site.btaHungary's Deputy Minister of EU Affairs: Hungary Backs Bulgaria, Romania's Full Schengen Membership

Deputy Minister of Hungary's Ministry of European Union Affairs, Pal Zsigmond Barna, was quoted on Saturday by the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hirlap as saying that Hungary supports, as a matter of paramount national and European interest, the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen, so that free transit can also take place at land border crossings.

During a round table which discussed the pros and cons of having open borders in the Romanian city of Targu Mures on Friday, Pal Zsigmond Barna said his country will do everything in its power to make the accession take place while overseeing the rotating EU presidency. He added that more and more member states are realizing that it is in the EU's interest for both Bulgaria and Romania to fully join Schengen as soon as possible.

Romanian MEP Lorant Vincze of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania said at the round table that that the lack of full Schengen membership is harming Romania economically. He added that joining Schengen will provide an important dynamic to the economic relations between the Romania and Hungary. According to the MEP, Bulgaria is the weak link on the matter, while his country should increase its "diplomatic efforts".