Bulgarian prime minister Boiko Borisov said following talks with European Council head Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday that Schengen accession would encourage his country to protect EU external borders and be more active in fulfilling duties, Novinite.com reads. read more...

Romania and Bulgaria’s chances to join Schengen will improve considerably if the upcoming summer EC report on the justice system and the fight against corruption will be positive, Novinite.com reads, quoting sources close to negotiations. read more...

Bulgaria registered some progress to reform the judiciary and its fight against corruption but efforts remain insufficient to be considered a good standard for the EU, the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism on Bulgaria reads, quoted by news agency Mediafax. Bulgaria needs to continue its reforms of the judiciary and its fight against corruption. read more...

Even though Romania was monitored by the EU and urged by several states to intensify its fight against corruption in order to join Schengen, the political class endangers its hopes, AFP reads on Friday. read more...

European Commission might present on Friday the interim justice reports on Romania and Bulgaria, part of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, European sources declared, news agency Agerpres reads. However, an official announcement was not made by Thursday night and usually the EC report is presented in a technical briefing session, on the record. read more...

Romania’s adhesion to Schengen will not be postponed because of Bulgaria, Bulgarian Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee President Dobroslav Dimitrov declared in an interview for Romanian news agency Agerpres. read more...

Netherlands was always favorable to Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen but just like France, we consider that at this moment, the two countries are not ready to join, Dutch Immigration minister Gerd Leers declared. He talks, in an interview for RFI about an issue of trust in his attempt to explain the delay. read more...

Netherlands considers that Romania and Bulgaria cannot join Schengen “at this stage”, joining the positions expressed by France, Germany and Finland, AFP reports. read more...

EU member states decided on Wednesday, at Brussels that the technical evaluation reports of Romania and Bulgaria should be declassified and sent to the European Parliament, RFI informs. The evaluation reports will be delivered in a few days to the EP. read more...

The arrest operation of customs and police officers at the Siret customs, North Romania proves that in Romania there are the necessary resorts to fight against corruption but we are looking forward to see how judicial procedures will continue and if there will be any sentencing, Finnish European Affairs minister Astrid Thors declared quoted by Romanian news agency Agerpres. read more...

French European Affairs minister Laurent Wauquiez said at RFI that his country does not oppose Romania’s adhesion to Schengen “out of mere principle, but definitely Romania and Bulgaria cannot join in the next three months because Bulgaria is not ready and Romania cannot join without Bulgaria. If the two countries are ready to join this year and all guarantees that they are ready exist, then we will not oppose.” read more...

Romanian President Traian Basescu said Friday Romania will not ask to be considered for Schengen separately from Bulgaria, even though reports show Romania has met all technical criteria and Bulgaria hasn’t, the president’s office said in a press release Saturday. read more...

Romanian President Traian Basescu on Friday will participate in the meeting of the European Council in Brussels, the Presidency said in a press release Thursday. read more...

EU, US and Romania pressure Moldova’s political processes in an attempt to draw the state towards their area of influence, Russia’s Ambassador to Chisinau, Valeri Kuzmin declared. During the electoral campaign, Russia adopted a politically correct attitude, as the practice of international relations requests it, the Russian diplomat said. read more...

The complete destabilisation of the Arab world by the imminent fall of the Mubarak regime in Egypt will reset the strategies of world leaders. We could witness policies of stockpiling and rationing fuels and basic products, believes professor Daniel Dăianu. read more...

Some problems raised by Slovenia caused the adoption of Bulgaria’s technical report for Schengen to be postponed, Bulgarian deputy Interior minister Dimitar Georgiev declared, SofiaEcho reads quoting the Bulgarian news agency BTA. read more...

EPP Conservative group in the European Parliament, demanded France and Germany to give a “powerful political signal” to Romania and Bulgaria regarding their perspectives to adhere to Schengen, AFP informs. EPP group considers it necessary to send a political message to Bulgaria and Romania to ensure that perspectives are correct and explicit. read more...

Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi participates on Monday, in Brussels, in the meetings of the General Affairs Council (GAC) and of the Council on Foreign Affairs (CFR), MAE informs in a press release. read more...

PM Boc assured on Friday his Croatian counterpart, Jadranka Kosor of Romania’s support for Croatia to join the EU, Romanian news agency Agerpres informs. read more...

The Schengen Area evaluation group (Sch-Eval) on Friday adopted the technical report on Romania’s Schengen accession, people close to the matter told MEDIAFAX. read more...