Straight talking needed on Romania's Schengen bid

(BUCHAREST) - European member states who oppose Romania's immediate entry into the Schengen area must state clearly what they expect from Bucharest, the EU commissioner for Home Affairs said Thursday.

"The current political situation in the union is such that there are a number of member states who feel that they are not ready to make the decision to let Romania into the Schengen territory right now", Cecilia Malmstrom told reporters during a visit to Bucharest.

"I now encourage these member states to be specific in their demands, in what they ask from Romania."

She called for "measurable" and "concrete" criteria "so that Romania knows what it needs to do in order to gain the trust of these countries".

According to Malmstrom, "the technical evaluations show that Romania fulfills all the technical criteria", to join the Schengen area.

France, Germany, Finland and the Netherlands consider it "premature" to let Romania and Bulgaria enter the passport-free zone in March.

Paris and Berlin said that the two former communist bloc nations need to make "irreversible progress" in the fight against corruption, a criteria still to be defined.

The Dutch minister of European Affairs Ben Knapen on Wednesday said that France and the Netherlands will start to work on a set of criteria.

Malmstrom praised Romania for its "important work" on fighting corruption after meeting with the Minister of Interior Train Igas.

Dozens of customs officers and policemen operating at the border with Serbia and Ukraine have been detained in the last days and indicted for corruption.

"This shows the commitment by Romanian authorities to fight the problem", Malmstrom said.

"It is important that there is a swift process and that these people are brought to justice" she insisted as high level corruption trials often drag on for years in the Balkan country.