Germany opposes early Schengen enlargement

Commission report says Romania is ready to join but Bulgaria is lagging behind.

Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s interior minister, has said that allowing Romania and Bulgaria to join the European Union’s Schengen area of borderless travel would be “premature”.

Countries aspiring to join the Schengen area have to be ready both “technically” and “politically”, he said on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU interior ministers outside Budapest yesterday (20 January).

Germany, together with France, is leading a group of EU member states that oppose the entry of Romania and Bulgaria during the first half of this year, when Hungary holds the rotating presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers. Admitting the two member states to Schengen is among Hungary’s priorities for its presidency.

Sándor Pintér, Hungary’s interior minister, told reporters after yesterday’s meeting that Romania’s membership “could take place during the Hungarian presidency”.

“Romania, from a technical point of view, is prepared to enter the Schengen area,” he said.

A technical assessment by the European Commission was shared with the member states last week. It found that Romania had met the main conditions for joining the Schengen area while Bulgaria had not.

“It’s not just a question of having good computers,” de Maizière said. “It’s a question of whether the entire system is sufficiently reliable for us all in Europe to have confidence in it, and that’s where we still have doubts.”

Many EU member states believe that the two countries, which joined the EU in 2007, were admitted prematurely. Corruption is seen as endemic, with Bulgaria also battling a serious organised crime problem.

Traian Igaş, Romania’s interior minister, said yesterday that his country was ready to join but that the government was “realistic” about its chances of doing so.

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