Bulgaria and Romania should become members of the Schengen Area as the countries have met the accession criteria and the delay is caused by political reasons, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak said, reported Sputnik.

“We need the operating Schengen area and we should not be afraid of its expansion. I believe that the Schengen area should include Bulgaria and Romania because these two countries fulfilled the necessary technical requirements. The delay of granting them membership in the Schengen Area has political, not technical character,” Lajcak said on Saturday, as quoted by the Teraz media outlet.