European Commissioner Ylva Johansson said after today’s meeting, where both countries were denied accession she also stated that “The citizens of Bulgaria and Romania deserve to be fully part of the Schengen Area,”
While Croatia celebrates its Schengen membership, Romania and Bulgaria are dismayed by the decision to remain in the Schengen waiting room. Despite this, Bucharest and Sofia both assert that they are still dedicated to achieving Schengen membership. According to Reuters, Bulgarians aspire to enter the Schengen area as early as March of next year. They also feel that they may be able to do so.
The EU interior ministers opted to welcome Croatia as the 27th Schengen member at their meeting on Thursday. Romania and Bulgaria, the other two contenders, were denied membership, with Romania’s entry being opposed by Austria and Bulgaria’s being rejected by Austria and the Netherlands.
