Bulgaria, Romania bids for swift Schengen entry scotched

(LUXEMBOURG) - European nations led by the Netherlands on Thursday scotched Bulgaria's and Romania's hopes of gaining entry into the continent's passport-free Schengen network as early as next year.

"It is too early to take a decision now and it may take some time before we are in a position to do so," said Dutch Immigration Minister Gerd Leers, a day after a European Parliament vote supporting quick entry by the pair into the borderless zone.

A European Union diplomat said the Netherlands opposed a decision before 2012.

Gaining membership into the Schengen area requires agreement from all 26 members, but Denmark, Finland, France, Germany and Sweden share Dutch reservations over both nations' capacity to control illegal immigration and crime at their own borders.

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant suggested a halfway solution in a two-stage membership.

"A first stage in autumn (2011) with the opening of air borders in the presence of police from other states," he said, adding that "Romania and Bulgaria agree."

"A second stage could take place later, in 2012, with the opening of land borders, there again with the help of border guards from other EU countries."

"But this will be possible if all goes well, if we have received the assurances we want on the efficiency of measures to combat corruption," he added.

Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said the issue would be re-examined in September, with step-by-step membership one of the solutions on the table.

Leers also said it was "imperative that all adopted judicial reform measures in Romania and Bulgaria are effective and irreversible."

"The Schengen system is based on mutual trust since we are asking new countries to effectively guard our collective borders."

Britain, Ireland and Cyprus remain outside the 26-nation Schengen area which also counts non-EU states such as Switzerland and Norway among its members.

The agreement allows people to travel between countries without the need to show their passport at border crossings.

The European Commission is scheduled to publish its next monitoring report on justice reforms and corruption in the two Balkan countries this summer.