According to the German Interior Minister, Hans-Peter Friedrich, Bucharest and Sofia are still having problems with fighting corruption. Moreover, he says, there are measures that have not been properly implemented in the two countries. Berlin’s reticence on the matter was previously shown by the Netherlands, which has been opposing for a long time the two countries’ entry into Europe’s border-free Schengen area. Insisting on having met all the technical criteria for Schengen accession, a fact acknowledged by all member states since last year, Bucharest has no longer asked for a vote on the issue at the current Justice and Home Affairs Council’s meeting, given the lack of political consensus at European level.

Romania and Bulgaria have decided to change their strategy in the upcoming period, and start what the Romanian Interior Minister, Radu Stroe, has called an offensive, namely, direct talks with all Schengen zone members. Of them, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are the most difficult to convince, as they condition the two countries’ entry on the next justice report to be made public in December. As far as Berlin is concerned, Minister Stroe has said that Bucharest will come up with several technical solutions, given that the German authorities have raised the issue of immigrants from Romania.

These immigrants don’t look for a job and come to Germany to live on social benefits, thus becoming a burden for the state, the German authorities have explained. Nevertheless, the Irish Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, has said that no one can know what will happen by year-end, but has pointed out he would rather see the glass half full. Without setting a clear date, Shatter has said he cannot predict the future but has insisted that “it is possible that there should be some progress, but many states, for political reasons, have been against Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen. I’m optimistic about some progress being made this autumn, but I can’t tell you that for sure”. He has also pointed out that the issue will surely be addressed by the future EU Council presidency, to be held by Lithuania.