France Says Most EU Members Oppose Romania, Bulgaria Joining Schengen Area

"It is not only the view of France. I think the implicit link made by all governments [of member states] is that from the moment when the conditions required by the control mechanism are not fully met, a number of things are not feasible, including [the two countries] controlling the EU's external borders. Nobody opposed this view," French state secretary for European affairs Pierre Lellouche said.

"Romania and Bulgaria, which joined the EU in 2007, are still being monitored by the European Commission due to their poorly functioning judicial systems and inability to curb corruption. However, as the Commission has recognized, there is no direct link or legal requirement that the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) should be lifted before the two countries' accession to Schengen," writes EurActiv.com

"The Commission has the right to say what it wants. But the European Union is composed of states […] of 27 states who gather and put together pieces of sovereignty in order to be stronger together. But there is no divine right, coming from I don't know what god, to say, from a certain cloud, that things are this way," said Lellouche regarding the Commission's statement, cited by EurActiv.com.

"There is a law, which is the Treaty […] I read that the Commission is the guardian of the Treaties, but for me, who has been elected in my country, the guardian of the Treaties is the French citizens that have ratified it, through their representatives, after having rejected the European Constitution," Lellouche said.

According to EurActiv.com, Lellouche lashed out at journalists for attempting to launch a "bad process" against France:

"Wait. Wait. France is a big country, a sovereign country. We are the founding country of human rights. I have no intention to be treated as a little boy. It is not because of a circular letter that we question the French Republic […] Enough with those questionnaires, with answers to questionnaires. This is not a tribunal and France is not in front of a tribunal," Lellouche said.

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