Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson welcomed planned expansion of the Schengen Area to include Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania.
She stressed that the three EU member states met the requirements to join the free movement area and added that it is time to welcome them and make the Schengen Area larger and stronger.
In a statement released on Wednesday, she pointed out that free movement helps to strengthen the single market and increase people’s standard of living.
The three bloc members “have the tools, structures, and procedures in place to manage external borders, including possible security threats,” she stressed and added “they have highly trained and dedicated staff, state of the art infrastructure and knowhow.”
Johansson reminded that Bulgaria and Romania invited experts from the EC, EU member states and the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) last month to assess their preparedness to join the Schengen Area.
Their reports were very positive, Johansson stressed and pointed out that Croatia was the first bloc member to launch an Independent Monitoring Mechanism to oversee protection of rights at EU’s external borders.
According to Johansson, the three bloc members have waited for approval to join the Schengen Area for too long.
EP approved enlargement
She reminded that the EU Parliament voted in favour of expanding the Schengen Area and added that the EU Presidency with the Czech Republic at the helm is planning to put the expansion on the agenda next month.
Johansson noted that the Schengen Area today “is something very different from when it was created… we will soon introduce interconnected large scale IT systems, VISA information System, Schengen information system, we have Europol, we have Frontex.”
She stressed the importance of strong and interconnected control of EU’s external borders which requires cooperation between national authorities and law enforcement agencies.
Johansson reiterated that the three EU member states are prepared to join the Schengen Area, and the EU is prepared to welcome them.
She expressed hope that bloc members will take “this important, historical, positive decision” that is in the best interest of Schengen Area members and the three candidate countries.
