The European Commission (EC) expressed this Wednesday its “full support” at the entrance of Romania Y Bulgaria in the Schengen area, since although the two countries have been part of the European Union (EU) since 2007, they are not yet included in the area free of border controls.
During a debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament, the Vice President of the EC Margaritis Schinas reiterated the “full support” of the Community Executive for the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area because this “can only strengthen our collective resilience and deepen our cohesion “.
“We now have a real opportunity, in December, to finally take these historic decisions and let the citizens of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia fully benefit from our much-appreciated Schengen success,” Schinas said.
The Czech Minister for the European Union, Mikulas Beckwhose country chairs the community club this semester, said that Prague “is working for the adoption of the necessary decision of the Council (the Member States) unanimously” in December that allows Bulgaria and Romania to enter Schengen.
Croatia Nor is it currently integrated into the free movement area and Bek assured that the Czech presidency supports “the full accession” of the country to Schengen.
“It is time for Schengen to grow further. Already since 2011, the Commission has been actively advocating for the completion of Schengen, encouraging countries to quickly take the necessary steps to allow those Member States that are not yet fully party to from the area, come together,” Schinas said.
It is time for Schengen to grow bigger.
Schinas conveyed that “tremendous progress” has been made in recent months with “important political steps” and, in this sense, recalled that last December the Council of the EU, which brings together the Member States, concluded that Croatia has fulfilled the necessary conditions for the full application of the Schengen acquis.
That opinion is a prerequisite for the Council to take the decision on the abolition of internal border controls.
He also spoke of “a lot of progress” for the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen. “Both countries have been waiting for the Council’s decision for more than eleven years, when the Commission confirmed (in 2011) that they fully meet the necessary conditions to join,” he evidenced.
He added that while awaiting accession to Schengen, Bucharest and Sofia continue to apply the rules of the free movement area. In fact, he highlighted and praised both States “for the way in which they have managed the external borders in the face of the large number of refugees who have arrived from Ukraine.”
During the debate, German far-right MEP Guido Reil said that Romania is “really the Wild West of Europe, the Wild West in the middle of Europe” and that in Ukraine “they have much better infrastructure, much more order”.
“How can a country with such a bad infrastructure, a country that is so corrupt, be a member of the EU?” he asked, declaring that Romania and Bulgaria are not needed either in the EU or in Schengen.
The vice-president of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala, who was presiding over the plenary at that time, criticized Reil for using the expression “wild west” to refer to Romania, which she considered “unacceptable”, and assured that she was going to communicate what happened to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to take “potential measures” against the MEP.
EFE
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