Bulgaria's and Romania's entry to Schengen

30.5.2013

Question for written answer E-006061-13
to the Commission
Rule 117
Dimitar Stoyanov (NI)

Right from the outset, in December 1999, of the negotiations about Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession to the European Union, the two countries have been deemed to ‘come as a package’. When the question of their joining the Schengen Area arose, they were once again lumped together as an entity. The expansion of the Schengen Area was discussed at the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council on 7 March 2013 but the Ministers postponed their decision until the end of the year. The German, Finnish, Austrian and the Dutch Ministers expressed doubts — centring on suspicions of corruption and on judicial system deficiencies — about Bulgaria’s and Romania’s readiness. Subsequently the EurActiv website published the views of two German MEPs, Manfred Weber and Markus Ferber, to the effect that the Romanian Government was holding up Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen. According to Weber, Romania had failed to make progress on meeting the requisite standards and was thus blocking the way for Bulgaria. Speaking in Brussels, Weber also said that Bulgaria and Romania always ‘come as a package’.

Is it advisable for the two Member States to be paired in this way, given that their economic and political situations are different?

OJ C 42 E, 13/02/2014