In an interview for Romania's TVR Info television channel, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said that the option to decouple Romania and Bulgaria for entry in the Schengen area has not been discussed. In his words, the option that was discussed was a temporary delay of Bulgaria but not decoupling.
"We have not wanted to, speaking in jargon, get rid of Bulgaria. We have not wanted to be decoupled. Bulgaria should be part of the Schengen area. The two countries have made tremendous effort to convince the European partners that they have made the necessary reforms and are ready for the border-free area," Aurescu commented.
In his words, the problem is that unlike Romania, Bulgaria has to convince not one but two countries - Austria and the Netherlands. The Netherlands has a series of requirements for Bulgaria concerning a new report on corruption and human rights or a new assessment under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. Bulgaria should put a series of efforts in this direction, and it has ways to do it despite the political crisis and the difficulties in forming a regular government, Aurescu said.
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