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Romania regrets over French, German request to delay its Schengen entry

22 December 2010 03:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Romania on Tuesday expressed regret over a French and German request to delay the countryâ€™s Schengen accession, stressing the move could risk sapping the credibility of the EU evaluation processes, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency.

According to a press release of the Foreign Ministry, the references in the letter whereby Germany and France ask for the postponement of Romania and Bulgariaâ€™s Schengen accession have a generalizing character that lacks hard-fact evidence and are subjective considerations.

The request starts from the premise of so-called "shortcomings in the general situation" of the two states and of hypothetical malfunctions that would affect the security of the Schengen border surveillance system, said the release, adding that Romania is implementing a last-generation land border surveillance technical system that uses technology supplied by the French-German company EADS.

"Just like France and Germany, Romania shares the preoccupation for ensuring the security of the Schengen border ... the successful passing of the external borders evaluation missions and the approval of the reports related to these missions is undeniable proof that Romania has fully met the undertaken commitments," stressed the ministry in the release.

The ministry reiterated that there is no legal or conjuncture reason to link the Schengen accession to the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) on the judiciary and the combat of corruption. Such an approach sets a precedent that is unacceptable not only for Romania and Bulgaria, but also for the whole Union as well.

"Romania and Bulgaria are being discriminated (against) in comparison with the treatment given to the previous Schengen entrants," said the release, expressing confidence that the Schengen evaluation process will keep within the established coordinates, within the institutional framework and assessment process already in place at EU level.

The reaction of the Romanian Foreign Ministry followed France and Germanyâ€™s move to officially request the postponement of Romania and Bulgariaâ€™s Schengen accession. In a letter sent by the French and German interior ministers to the European Commission, they claimed that Romania failed to fulfill some of the objectives undertaken as part of the CVM regarding corruption, justice and the fight against organized crime, mentioning also problems with border management and asylum policy.