Bulgaria, Romania Schengen decision delayed until September

Bulgaria and Romania will spend further months in the waiting room to join the European Union’s Schengen visa zone after the Netherlands continued to insist that the two countries have not made sufficient progress against organised crime and corruption.

The issue has been postponed to the September 2012 meeting of the EU’s justice and home affairs council, after discussions at a March 1 meeting of the European Council.

European Council President Herman van Rompuy said after the European Council that “we made progress” regarding the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen.