Technical Report On Romania’s Schengen Accession Adopted

The reports concerning Bulgaria's Schengen Information System and the Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry (SIS/SIRENE) and land movement were not adopted, Schengen Department chief and Romanian Interior Ministry state secretary Marian Tutilescu told MEDIAFAX.

Tutilescu added the two reports on Bulgaria will be discussed again during the next meeting of the Schengen evaluation group.

Tutilescu said the report evaluating Romania was adopted and stressed that France's representative dropped concerns regarding the implementation of the SIS/SIRENE system in Romania.

Tutilescu said the technical condition stage has ended and the report on Romania will be put to the vote in the European Parliament.

He highlighted that the two reports on Bulgaria not being adopted might also affect Romania, considering the two countries are supposed to join the Schengen Area together.

The evaluation report on Romania's implementation of the SIS / SIRENE system was presented in Brussels on January 14. France's representative asked for more time to study the report, which finally received a positive evaluation. On the other hand, Bulgaria received a negative evaluation concerning land borders.

Tutilescu said on January 21 that the Hungarian presidency of the European Union is looking into the possibility of allowing Romania and Bulgaria partial accession to the Schengen area by including the two countries' airspace in the border-free zone.

France and Germany oppose bids by Romania and Bulgaria to be accepted into the Schengen zone in the first half of this year, citing concerns with corruption and insufficient border controls. Finland has rallied to the positions of France and Germany and has opposed the two eastern European states' accession to the Schengen area.

The Schengen area includes 25 member states and allows control-free circulation to their more than 400 million citizens.

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