There are member states who are blocking Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area

2019-01-15

"Some member states of the EU are, without any official reasoning, blocking Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen. With this, they are sending the message to the 25 million EU citizens of the two countries that they are secondary citizens, who don’t even deserve a reasonable explanation for the situation that has developed" - said MEP Csaba Sógor on Monday in the plenary of the European Parliament, where he was making a case for the two member states joining the Schengen Area.

In his speech, Csaba Sógor reminded the MEPs that in the first part of this year Romania is holding the Presidency of the Council, and regretfully today, 12 years after the country joined the European Union we still have to talk about the fact that the rest of the member states won’t let Romania and Bulgaria be part of the Schengen Area.

The RMDSZ MEP said: this situation is demeaning to say the very least, as already in 2011 the European Commission indicated that the two countries are ready to join, having made the necessary steps to strengthen their borders and being capable of supplying the outer borders of the region - unlike other states who are part of the Schengen Area.

Csaba Sógor emphasized in his speech that it would be important, that the governments who are opposing Romania’s and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen, assume their decision and give a public explanation, because this situation is diminishing the cohesion within the EU.