Anna Hedh (S&D). – (SV) Mr President, tomorrow, we will vote on whether to allow Bulgaria and Romania to join the Schengen area. For me as a Social Democrat, it goes without saying that all EU Member States that meet all of the stringent requirements for cooperation should be allowed to join. It is, of course, important for us to lay down stringent requirements for joining Schengen, but the same objective criteria must apply to everyone. Anything else is political hypocrisy.

Now that all of the experts deem that Romania and Bulgaria satisfy requirements, I think it is clear that they should be allowed to join. Some objections have been raised this evening with regard to corruption in both countries, but that is not something that can be combated via the Schengen system. Just recently, Commissioner Malmström presented a package for combating corruption that we can use as a basis for further work. This is a matter for the whole of the European Union, not just for Romania and Bulgaria. Likewise, the fight against organised crime requires more cooperation, not more closed doors.

(Applause)