18/11/14
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22 September 2011
At the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels Thursday, no agreement was reached on whether Romania and Bulgaria can join the borderless Schengen area. Commissioner Malmström commented afterwards:
"It is indeed a pity that we did not get a better result out of this Council meeting. The Commission supported the efforts by the Polish presidency to find a solution."
"The Commission's view is that Romania and Bulgaria are fulfilling the criteria to join the Schengen area. The decision needs to be taken by unanimity and unfortunately all the member countries were not able to reach a consensus," Malmström said.
Other issues on the council agenda include the European Commission's proposals for reform of the entire Schengen border system. Combating radicalization and the fight against extremism are also topics to be raised. Read the Council's background note 
about the issues at hand and watch part of the meeting live. Also, a webcast press conference is planned for Thursday afternoon.
