Parliamentary question - O-000224/2011Parliamentary question
O-000224/2011

  Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen

Question for oral answer O-000224/2011
to the Council
Rule 115
Marian-Jean Marinescu, Andrey Kovatchev, Carlos Coelho, Mariya Nedelcheva, Monica Luisa Macovei, Elena Oana Antonescu, Simon Busuttil, Georgios Papanikolaou, Manfred Weber
on behalf of the PPE Group

Procedure : 2011/2853(RSP)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
O-000224/2011
Texts tabled :
O-000224/2011 (B7-0440/2011)
Votes :
Texts adopted :

The creation of the Schengen area and the integration of the Schengen acquis into the EU framework is one of the greatest achievements of the European integration process that directly affects the European citizen. In 2007 Romania and Bulgaria adopted the Schengen acquis when joining the EU. According to Article 4(2) of the Act of Accession, the verification through evaluation procedures that the necessary conditions for the application of all parts of the Schengen acquis (data protection, the SIS, air borders, land borders, sea borders, police cooperation and visas) have been met by the new Member States is a precondition for the Council to decide on the abolition of checks at internal borders with those Member States.

The evaluation starts following a request by the Member State concerned and is conducted under the responsibility of the Schengen Evaluation Working Group. After being subjected to a full evaluation procedure, the final report should establish whether that Member State fulfils all the preconditions for the practical application.

The integration decision should be made by the Council, by unanimous decision of all the Governments of the States which already belong to the Schengen area. In recent years Romania and Bulgaria have made a huge effort to join the Schengen area and, according to the experts’ reports, they have successfully concluded the Schengen evaluation process. Parliament in its resolution of 8 June 11 and the Council Conclusions of 9 June 11 certified the preparedness of both countries to join the Schengen area. During the European Council of 24 June 2011, the Heads of State and Government agreed that the decision concerning their accession should be taken no later than September 2011. Then, during the last JHA Council of 22 September 11, two Member States decided to block these aspirations and the decision was indefinitely postponed.

Tabled: 29.9.2011

Forwarded: 30.9.2011

Deadline for reply: 21.10.2011