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Schengen or not for Bulgaria and Romania?

Articles | Publié le 15.07.2011 Bulgaria and Romania are going to join the Schengen area soon. However, some of the Old Europe's countries were opposed to this accession, and had already managed to postpone the date. They also tried to apply some limitations in the hosting of these new unemploy... labor!

The accession into the Schengen area will be done in two stages. In September 2011, air control at borders will disappear from both countries. Next year, it should be the same for land and sea borders. This formula was proposed by Germany with the consent of France, the Netherlands and Finland, however, previously opposed the accession of candidate countries in the space of free movement. The final decision must be taken on Sept. 23 at the meeting of interior ministers of EU member states.

 

Conditional accession Originally scheduled for March 2011, the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area has been postponed. Indeed, the Ministers of Interior French and German have sent a joint letter last December to the European Commission, saying the two countries had not made sufficient progress in the fight against corruption and crime. This decision provoked strong reactions in both countries. For Maria Nedelcheva, Bulgarian Euro-deputy (EPP), the membership criteria for the two candidates are not the same as for other member states: "Bulgaria and Romania must meet certain technical criteria. The reports show that these criteria are actually met. What upsets me is that the debate in addition to other elements that have nothing to do with the issue of entry into the Schengen area. In this case, one wonders if there is no double standard. All other member countries of the Schengen area were judged solely by reference to technical criteria come into play here when other criteria such as the mechanism for cooperation and verification on the reform of the judiciary or the Roma issue. I propose to do things in perspective and apply the same criteria of selection for these two new candidate countries. " Euro-deputy for the Romanian Cristian Dan Preda (EPP): "The Romanian authorities had focused on technical reports. These reports on border management were satisfactory for Romania. Most of the Romanian authorities estimated that the refusal was not justified”. 1 Reports show that Bulgaria and Romania meet the criteria for membership. Germany, France and the Netherlands must now deliver concrete results in struggle against corruption and organized crime.

 

Legitimated discriminiation Another concern regarding the accession of both countries would be linked to transit via Bulgaria illegal immigrants from third countries arriving from the Greek border or Turkey. To protect its borders, the U. E. plans to send border and customs services to Bulgarian and Romanian borders to monitor the passage control. 2 Whatever the decision of the EU, the Netherlands will limit access to the Dutch labor market and implement work restrictions for Bulgarian and Romanian. To receive a work permit, the Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will have to pass "a test special work" is to check if there is no priority Dutch candidate for the same position. The European Commission does not oppose this decision. Indeed, such verification existed before July 1 and had concluded that the Dutch government was strict in the application of restrictions. 3 Finally, the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the European Parliament has supported the entry of both countries to the Schengen area. Like Hungary, Poland, having taken over EU presidency for the second half of 2011, emphasizes the importance and gives priority to the accession of both countries in the area of ​​free movement.

1 : Interviews done during an Euradionantes topic.

 

2 : Bulgaria inside Schengen Borders, by Nikola Lalov, on July 6th 2011, Mediapool.bg

 

3 : Integration of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen area blocked, Agency Focus news on June 27th 2011.

Valya Ivanova, Nantes France

//Zone publique Centre