French Interior Minister: French authorities are prepared to help Romania to join Schengen

France is convinced Romania must join the Schengen Area and French authorities are prepared to help Romania meet all the technical requirements, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said Monday.

Gueant met in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart, Traian Igas. They discussed Romania’s Schengen Area accession and police cooperation between the two states. The French minister said his government is prepared to help Romania meet the technical conditions, possibly by detailing a squad of French police officers to Romania. Igas said that seven expert evaluation reports showed Romania conforms with the Schengen acquis, meaning it is technically prepared to secure the Area’s external borders.