Bulgaria, Romania to Jointly Overcome Schengen Setback

Cooperation between Bulgaria and Romania is vital so that both countries achieve their goal to enter Schengen, stated Romanian PM Victor Ponta.

Thursday Ponta welcomed his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov, who is on an official visit to Bucharest.

Wednesday, the European People's Party, a member of which is Borisov's GERB, held their congress in the Romanian capital.

During their meeting, Bulgaria's rightist and Romania's socialist PM discussed plans for strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries.

A particular point of emphasis was deepening cooperation on joint projects along the common border, such as the Danube Bridge 2 and a joint checkpoint at Konstanta.

On his part, Bulgarian PM Borisov stated that its country is open and desiring to boost friendship with its northern neighbor.

Borisov reiterated Bulgaria's position that the two countries have fulfilled Schengen criteria and are unfairly being blocked by other member states on unrelated concerns.