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The Road to Schengen 25/02/2011
(2011-02-25)
Last updated: 2011-02-28 11:14 EET Print
On Thursday, during his official visit to Bucharest, European Council President Herman van Rompuy said he was impressed with what Romania has done so far to prepare for Schengen accession. At a press conference held Thursday night, president Traian Basescu said that Romania must now wait for the upcoming mid-March inspection of the Bulgarian border, following which authorities will be able to discuss an agenda. Basescu added that Romania does not aim to be evaluated separately from Bulgaria, and also that it will not accept any additional requirements. He reminded that Romania is only bound by its accession treaty and that the country has fully complied with the Schengen acquis. Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, scheduled for March 2011, is hampered by the implacability of EU power-brokers like Germany and France, who say they are displeased with the pace of reforms in the Romanian justice system. However, at Thursday’s meeting of EU Interior Ministers, the countries in question admitted that Bucharest had met all the technical requirements for Schengen accession. In March, an EU delegation will again check if Bulgaria has met the last remaining requirements on its list. At the meeting of EU Interior Ministers in Brussels, as reported by a Radio Romania correspondent, Germany proposed the introduction of a clause stipulating suspension from the Schengen Area, if a state fails to ensure border security up to EU standards. The scheme received the go-ahead from all member nations, and would apply to all Schengen countries. In Bucharest, head of the European Council Herman van Rompuy also praised Romania’s efforts to implement the common program with the EU and the IMF. He added that Romania’s efforts have helped stabilize the national economy, with the IMF predicting a growth of 1.5 percent of the GDP in 2011. The European official noted that amid the global financial crisis, Romania managed to strengthen the basis of its macroeconomic policies, the law on fiscal responsibility and the unitary salary law.

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