Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc has vowed to closely monitor the European Council summit on Sunday 23 October, adding that he expects a vote to be held on Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen bids.

On Thursday Boc acknowledged that both countries were facing certain political obstacles to their Schengen entry but said that he would rely on the support voiced by the European Parliament, Romanian news agency Agerpress said, as cited by BBC News.

The Romanian Prime Minister explained that the only clear expression of support for the two Schengen candidate countries at that point came from the European Parliament, which passed a second resolution calling for the final approval of Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the border-free area on October 13.

Boc noted that the two countries had faced numerous political obstacles to their Schengen entry but added that it remained to be seen what sort of political decision the forthcoming EU summit would yield.

On October 13, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging EU/Schengen member states to "avoid national populism" and allow Bulgaria and Romania to join the border free zone solely on the basis of existing membership criteria.

On September 22, Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen bids were formally vetoed by the Netherlands and Finland on the grounds of their inefficient fight against corruption and organized crime.

At the September 22 meeting of the EU Home Affairs Council, a representative of the Polish EU Presidency said that the Schengen expansion was a priority topic and would be included in the forthcoming European Council meeting.

The expansion of the border-free zone, however, is not on the agenda of the October 23 meeting of EU leaders.

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