Voices supporting the admission of Romania into the Schengen Area have been raised immediately after the country took the rotating EU presidency, reported schengenvisainfo.com

The European Parliament President Antonio Tajani called on the EU member statesblocking Romania’s accession into the Schengen to “rethink their stance”. President Tajani insisted that Romania has met the criteria to join the Schengen, in a round of speeches on the day Romania took over the EU presidency.

“I appeal to member states that block this membership and I invite them to change their position. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area will be beneficial for the security of all European countries. And I hope it will be concluded under your presidency,” President Tajani said.

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker who met the Romanian President at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, also showed his support for the accession of Romania into the Schengen Zone.

Whereas President Iohannis complained that Romania was not accepted into the Schengen Area, despite of having met all of the conditions set by the Schengen agreement.

“Being part of the Schengen area is a desideratum that we have from the very beginning and we have worked in that direction,” President Iohannis said during a joint press conference with President Juncker.

The latter also met the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, to whom he showed his wish for Romania to finally become a Schengen member country.

“If I could voice a wish, it would be that during the mandate of this Commission, Romania should join the Schengen Area. I see no reasons for which certain governments obstinately refuse this. We are keeping in touch with the most refractory and we are trying to convince them to say ‘yes’ for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area,” he said during a joint press conference with PM Dancila.

The European Parliament members called on the admission of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Zone in June 2011 for the first time. Since then, the MEPs have showed their support several times.  An overwhelming majority of the European Parliament members have voted in favor of a resolution that calls on the admission of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen zone, last month.

Romania and Bulgaria are among the only four EU countries that are still not part of the Schengen Zone, alongside Croatia and Cyprus, not including the UK and Ireland that chose to opt-out.

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