Belgium wants decision on Schengen expansion in 2013

Belgium’s foreign minister Didier Reynders wants to see a decision on Romania's Schengen accession to be adopted by the end of 2013, reports Bulgaria’s Standart News. Reynders and his Romanian counterpart Titus Corlatean (pictured) discussed the expansion of the Schengen Area of border-free travel and the European Commission's Verification and Co-operation Mechanism (CVM) at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. They voiced hopes that a decision on Schengen enlargement would be adopted by the end of 2013. Any move to expand the Schengen area must be approved by a unanimous vote by all 27 EU governments participating in the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council. Experts have suggested that Bulgaria and Romania are to join the Schengen Area in one go, but there are still a number of countries which oppose the step, despite claims that they meet all technical criteria for entering the EU passport-free zone.