Romanian PM Expects Schengen Membership by End of Year
Romania’s process of becoming part of the Schengen Zone has not been finalized yet, despite the fact that it has been waiting for more than a decade, AtoZSerwisPlus.Ro reports.
Besides, Romania’s PM has stressed that the country’s accession to Schengen would eliminate lengthy waits at Romania’s borders with other European Union Member countries and also boost its attractiveness to international visitors.
Brussels will also lift a regime that monitors the country’s progress in reforming its judiciary as well as stamping out corruption after years of criticism from the EU executive; Ciuca pointed out.
“Everything we have done since the conflict started shows that we are prepared to become a member of Schengen. We do expect all the other EU leaders to recognize everything we did,” Ciuca emphasized.
Recently, the Commission of the European Union urged the European Council to adopt a decision which would permit Romania, as well as Croatia and Bulgaria, accession to the Schengen Zone.
The Commission’s comments came through the State of Schengen Report published earlier this year.
The report noted that the three Balkan countries mentioned above had fulfilled all the requirements to become part of Schengen. Besides, according to the report, the same would apply to Cyprus once it completes the Schengen evaluation process.
The Commission of the European Union has continuously required the accession of Romania, Croatia as well as Bulgaria into the borderless area of Schengen; however, such a process has not been finalized yet.
Regarding the issue, previously, the European Union’s Home Affairs Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, said that the Schengen Zone should be completed by permitting the three Balkan countries to take their place in the passport-free zone.
In June last year, the EU’s Home Affairs Commissioner stressed that “this summer inspires us to re-establish the freedom of movement completely and make Schengen prepared for the future so that our children may work, study and travel in the whole of Europe, anytime and anywhere they want.”
However, despite such comments, the process has not been completed yet. Moreover, the State of Schengen Report also brought to light several other priorities resulting from the Schengen evaluation, which also include border management, police cooperation, as well as visa policies and data protection.
