Accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the border-free Schengen may be delayed

The European Commission does not tie the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the border-free Schengen zone with the problems of the Roma minority from the two countries in France, a spokesman has said. “The commission is assisting Bulgaria and Romania to meet the criteria and accede, if this is possible, to the Schengen zone in 2011,” commission spokesman Michele Cercone said on Monday.

Earlier this month French officials said that Bulgaria and Romania should not enter Schengen until they have fulfilled all EU requirements regarding the fight with corruption and organized crime.