Romania Not To Complete Preparations For Schengen Accession In 2019 - EU Commission

Romania did not ensure the readiness to complete the preparatory procedures for joining the Schengen Area by the end of 2019, the European Commission`s press service said Tuesday in a statement.

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2018) Romania did not ensure the readiness to complete the preparatory procedures for joining the Schengen Area by the end of 2019, the European Commission`s press service said Tuesday in a statement.

In November, the European Commission said that Bucharest needed to ensure full transparency and independence of the judicial system to fulfill the benchmarks of the EU Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM).

"While Romania has taken some steps to implement the final 12 recommendations issued by the Commission in January 2017, in order to fulfil the CVM benchmarks, recent developments have reversed the course of progress and called into question the positive assessment made back in January 2017," press release reads.

According to press release, the European Commission set 8 additional recommendations for Romania in order to resume the path toward the conclusion of the CVM.

"As a result, the 12 recommendations set out in the January 2017 report are no longer sufficient to meet the orientation given by President Jean-Claude Juncker when he started his term of office to close the CVM under this Commission's mandate.

The report therefore sets out eight additional recommendations to remedy the current situation," press release said.

In February, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker said that the EU Cooperation and Verification Mechanisms (CVM) should be lifted off Romania and Bulgaria before the expiration of the European Commission mandate in 2019. The CVM, launched in 2007, applies only to Romania and Bulgaria and sets the requirements for reforms in the fields of justice and fight against corruption and organized crime in both countries.

The Schengen Area comprises most EU member states, excluding Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It also includes non-EU countries such as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.