SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 5 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria and Romania must be granted access to the Schengen passport free-travel area 'ASAP' (as soon as possible), Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament (EP), said.
“Today's vote on access to Visa Information System is a step forward to strengthen external border control,” Tajani said on his official Twitter account on Wednesday following a plenary session of the European Parliament.
On Wednesday, the EP approved a proposal to grant access to the visa information system (VIS) of the Schengen area to Bulgaria and Romania.
Last month, the European Commission said it is “high time” that Bulgaria and Romania become full members of the Schengen area and urged the Council of the EU to take the necessary actions in this regard.
Bulgaria and Romania have demonstrated their capacity to defend the EU's external borders, and should therefore become members of the border-free zone, the Commission said at the time.