According to Romania Insider, Dutch lawmakers passed a resolution yesterday requesting that the government not take any irreversible steps toward admitting Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen region until it conducts further investigations into border surveillance and the reduction of corruption and organised crime in both countries.
The MEPs are directing the Dutch government to conduct additional investigations on its own because they claim that the current analyses being undertaken by a team of EU specialists on the rule of law, corruption, and organised crime in the two nations are limited in extent.
Nicolae Ciuca, the prime minister of Romania, voiced tempered worry on the vote in the Dutch parliament and recalled that the Romanian government had allowed Dutch investigators to conduct on-the-spot analyses into areas they thought were problematic.
He testified that every requirement for Schengen membership had been satisfied. Ciuca also noted that the outcome of the recent visit of the European mission to Romania was successful.
President Radev shared his views about the situation from Brussels. He said, “All nations support Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen area.” It is important to remember that 15 Dutch MEPs voted in the European Parliament’s favour of Bulgaria and Romania. Only four people voted for No. It clearly demonstrates that the internal politics of the Netherlands are binding the two nations, and this will not last long.”
Romania has a possibility to join Schengen, but there is no assurance, according to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who spoke yesterday in Brussels. Although the results of the country assessment mission were excellent, he said, there were still some issues that needed to get solved.
He added, “We want to join the Schengen region, and the technical conditions have been practically met, as has been known for at least 11 years. Since there must also be a political vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council, which has not happened so far, accession has not been completed. There is currently a window of opportunity, which means there is a chance but no assurance. We have taken several actions to improve our chances”.