Bulgaria and Romania: the Schengen entry dream

It seems that for so many years now Romania and Bulgaria dream about being part of the Schengen zone for passport free traveling and this still remains a dream. Recently, the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Kristian Vigenin expressed hopes that the bid for entry of his country will finally be considered and that Bulgaria will become part of the visa free Schengen zone. At the same time, Romania intends to put concrete and sharp questions for entering the travel free Schengen zone in front of the leaders of the Council of European Union in May. The intentions of Romania were announced by the president of the county, Mr. Traian Basescu after his meeting with the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

It is a fact that Romania and Bulgaria do qualify for Schengen, however their entry is made difficult from certain member countries which are willing to see positive reports of the European Commission for the two countries in order to agree to the extension of the visa free zone of Schengen. It is a fact that Romania and Bulgaria are now truly disappointed by the Schengen entry mechanism, which has turned to be a tool for political games. The politicians from the two countries feel that this mechanism is not used for acknowledging the efforts that the two countries have made and are currently making.