Romania to join Schengen area in 2011-2012

The Slovenian EU presidency is already working on an evaluation of Romania and Bulgaria’s capacity to join the Schengen area, according to Bulgarian newspaper Sofia Echo. Mate added that, as the country holding the EU presidency, Slovenia sees the integration of Western Balkan states as a priority, and called for stronger cooperation with those countries in the fight against organized crime.

The Schengen area, providing free movement for citizens of member states, was enlarged in December 2007 to 24 European countries, allowing some 400 million people to travel freely around the continent. Eight former communist countries that joined the EU in 2004, namely Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, joined the Schengen area last year.

Slovakia took over the six-month EU presidency on 1 January 2008.