Schengen is a village on the border between France, Germany and Luxembourg, when the Schengen Treaty was signed in 1985. [Arno Langenfeld/Flickr]
This article has been updated with comments by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev made upon his arrival at the Council of the EU on Friday morning.
The Dutch Parliament followed a solution on Thursday 20th October stating that the Netherlands opposes the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen domain without borders.
The news comes two days after the European Parliament approved a solution by an overwhelming majority, urging Schengen member states to allow Romania and Bulgaria to sign up for the EU’s free-moving domain without further delay.
Dutch MEP Sophia in ‘t Veld deplored the decision, noting that while she supports its membership, others in the government do not.
“I deeply regret it. My party voted against this resolution; we need Romania and Bulgaria to sign up for the Schengen domain immediately; has met the mandatory criteria. You must realize that not everyone in the Netherlands is opposed. said in ‘t Veld, quoted through the Romanian news firm Agerpress.
The European Parliament suggested on Tuesday (October 18) to Schengen member states to allow Romania and Bulgaria to register in the EU’s free-moving domain without further delay.
Dutch MPs have called on Mark Rutte’s government to veto Romania and Bulgaria from joining Schengen because they are looking at the functioning of the rule of law and alleviating corruption and organised crime in both countries, the Romania Journal reported.
The decision, followed by the Dutch parliament, states that the prevalence of such disorders in a Schengen country “may cause serious disruption to the functioning of the border in the country involved and therefore pose a threat to the security of the Netherlands and the Schengen domain as a whole. “
Commenting on the resolution followed, Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Cuba said he did not mind adopting the resolution, as Romania had done its best to comply with the technical situations for membership. This included compliance with the issues discussed in the Dutch resolution.
He added that Dutch officials are welcome for an investigation if they believe there are problems.
Currently, while Croatia is about to register in the Schengen domain, the only EU Member States left outside the Union’s borderless domain are Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus and Ireland.
Schengen includes non-EU states, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Speaking to Bulgarian journalists upon arrival at the EU Council on Friday, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said Sofia and Bucharest were hostages to Dutch domestic politics.
This scenario would last a long time, however, he predicts.
“The most important thing is that all the countries of Bulgaria,” he said, referring to talks he had with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and several other leaders of Schengen states.
“The Netherlands is now alone,” he said.
When asked about his expectations of a solution under the current Czech presidency of the Council of the EU, he hinted that, despite attempts by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, it is most likely that the thing will find its solution after the Dutch elections in the spring.
“A lot of communication efforts are needed on the importance of Bulgaria in securing the EU’s common border,” he said.
[Edited via Alice Taylor]