Former European Affairs Minister Leonard Orban stated in an interview for RFI that a possible separation of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession bids would entail technical reevaluations and other analyses that would take a year. He stated that all those involved in the judiciary have to improve their activity and that Parliament is seen as the number one factor from a political standpoint. Leonard Orban stated that the states that oppose Romania’s Schengen accession should clearly point out what homework Romania still has to do. “The moment you met the criteria and this is not about technical or political criteria, because there are only criteria included in European legislation, naturally you wonder: what else do you want from us? (…) It’s a diplomatic game: tell us exactly what else you want us to do so you could say we are completely ready from this point of view.” Orban added that “the only favorable thing that could happen would be for the judiciary, the fight against corruption, to improve significantly both in Romania and in Bulgaria. If that doesn’t happen I’ll tell you clearly that certain member states will still insist and oppose our Schengen accession.”
