Romania hopes for Schengen access by year-end: FM
新华社
2014/01/28
Romania is hoping for a favorable decision for its Schengen access before the end of this year, said on Monday Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlatean.
"Romania's accession to the Schengen Area stands as a priority and a legitimate right of our country as an EU member state," the minister told a joint press conference with his visiting Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans.
"We have made efforts to meet the criteria of the Schengen Acquis," he said, stressing that "when political conditions for a unanimous decision within the EU are met we have every interest to see this decision adopted in the two-step formula mentioned earlier; hopefully before the end of this year."
"We have also discussed the CVM (the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism) issue and the progress mentioned in the Report presented in Brussels on January 22, which confirms the positive trend of the efforts in this area," continued Corlatean, underlining yet that "we don't see the connection between two important matters - the CVM and Schengen."
He pointed out the Romanian authorities' determination to continue reforms and guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
Frans Timmermans said in his turn that the Dutch authorities' position had always been the same, as they were strict and sometimes regarded harshly for being strict, but that they were also fair. Timmermans said that the Dutch authorities would have to acknowledge if Romania made any steps forward, adding that the CVM report would be discussed in Brussels with the desire of solving the problems together.
The Netherlands is the country that most often opposed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area, accusing deficiencies in the fight against corruption and organized crime. While Bucharest have argued repeatedly that there is no connection between Schengen and CVM, the Dutch authorities have linked the Schengen accession of the two countries with CVM reports, according to media reports.
Frans Timmermans is paying an official visit to Bucharest on Monday.
"Romania's accession to the Schengen Area stands as a priority and a legitimate right of our country as an EU member state," the minister told a joint press conference with his visiting Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans.
"We have made efforts to meet the criteria of the Schengen Acquis," he said, stressing that "when political conditions for a unanimous decision within the EU are met we have every interest to see this decision adopted in the two-step formula mentioned earlier; hopefully before the end of this year."
"We have also discussed the CVM (the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism) issue and the progress mentioned in the Report presented in Brussels on January 22, which confirms the positive trend of the efforts in this area," continued Corlatean, underlining yet that "we don't see the connection between two important matters - the CVM and Schengen."
He pointed out the Romanian authorities' determination to continue reforms and guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
Frans Timmermans said in his turn that the Dutch authorities' position had always been the same, as they were strict and sometimes regarded harshly for being strict, but that they were also fair. Timmermans said that the Dutch authorities would have to acknowledge if Romania made any steps forward, adding that the CVM report would be discussed in Brussels with the desire of solving the problems together.
The Netherlands is the country that most often opposed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area, accusing deficiencies in the fight against corruption and organized crime. While Bucharest have argued repeatedly that there is no connection between Schengen and CVM, the Dutch authorities have linked the Schengen accession of the two countries with CVM reports, according to media reports.
Frans Timmermans is paying an official visit to Bucharest on Monday.