Bulgaria, Romania to continue Schengen efforts

Bulgaria and Romania cooperated well in their efforts to enter the Schengen Area, the countries’ interior ministers said days after their bids to join the zone were blocked by the EU.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and his Romanian counterpart Traian Constantin Igas met in Sofia on Tuesday for a bilateral conference about the achievements of the two countries in implementing Schengen technical requirements.

Some EU states are demanding further results in the fight against organised crime and corruption in the two countries.

“Certain EU member states should not have linked the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism for Corruption and Organized Crime with Schengen criteria, for such links can’t be substantiated,” said Tsvetanov.

Constantin Igas presented the Schengen-related improvements made in his country as part of the bid: a special system for monitoring waters in the Black Sea, an encrypted satellite telephone network, a GPS for real-time pursuit, as well as extensive trainings of all security officers.