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Schengen row

September 22, 2011

Romania and Bulgaria were denied entry to the Europe’s visa-free Schengen zone on Thursday. The issue of border controls is threatening to create deep divisions with the EU.

https://p.dw.com/p/12eol
Crossed-out EU sign with Romania in the middle
Romania and Bulgaria are indignant at being refused entry to SchengenImage: AP

European Union member states obviously had something different in mind than the proposals served up at Thursday’s meeting of EU interior ministers.

Faced with a wave of refugees from North Africa, some governments want to limit the freedom of travel within the visa-free Schengen Area.

In response, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom tabled some changes. But in so doing, she largely wants to take away the right of individual states to reinstate temporary border controls, and have any such decisions taken at European level.

Ole Schröder
Schröder: EU states need to be able to fight criminalityImage: picture alliance / dpa

But there is great resistance to the plan. The German state secretary at the interior ministry, Ole Schröder, is one of those to oppose it.

The commissioner's proposal "takes away the possibility for member states to fight criminality," Schröder said.

Several other EU ministers have voiced similar concerns and want to retain the right to decide on their countries' own border controls.

Romania, Bulgaria out in the cold

But the Schengen Agreement is causing other headaches as well.

Since their accession to the EU in 2007, Romania and Bulgaria have been pushing to join the border-free travel zone. However, other member countries have prevented this up until now and on Thursday delayed a decision once again.

The Romanian and Bulgarian governments insist that they have met the necessary conditions but have seen their accession delayed twice in three months over concerns that their failure to rein in corruption and organized crime would put the 25 other Schengen members at risk.

"We know that the technical criteria have been completely met, but we also know that our people's feeling of security is crucial,” Austrian Interior Minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner said. "And this feeling must, of course, be taken into consideration here."

"Door with eight locks"

Gerd Leers and Cecilia Malmstrom at the meeting
Leers fears the spread of organized crime in EuropeImage: picture alliance/Wiktor Dabkowski

The Dutch immigration minister, Gerd Leers, compared the Schengen Area with a door with eight of the best locks in the world. "But if you have someone standing at the door letting everyone in, you have a problem," Leers said.

Leers also sees a connection with the European debt crisis. European citizens can only be asked to hold together in the crisis if every country in the bloc is seen to be fighting corruption and organized crime.

"We have to be one hundred percent certain that this is also the case in Romania and Bulgaria," he said. "If we are, we will say: 'Welcome, let's work together.'"

Polish Interior Minister Jerzy Miller, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, also spoke of a lack of trust. He, however, meant a very different kind of trust and feels that Romania and Bulgaria have in a way been let down.

"Today, the promise in the accession contract [regarding membership of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Area] has been broken," he said. "And today we are not confident enough to say that we want to act together rather than separately."

As a compromise, a two-step plan has been mooted. It foresees air and sea borders opening first, while a decision to open land borders would be delayed to next year. Both Germany and France have voiced support for this solution.

But with the interior ministers so far unable to reach agreement, the topic will be discussed again at the next EU summit in mid-October.

Author: Christoph Hasselbach, Brussels / tj
Editor: Rob Turner