The visit was postponed because of a budget debate in the Bulgarian parliament on the same day, Vessela Cherneva, spokesperson to the country’s Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying by Dnevnik, the EurActiv partner publication in Sofia.
The visit was first planned as an effort by the Bulgarian government to win the confidence of Rutte, Romania, but Cherneva said that the current state of affairs between Sofia and The Hague was not favorable for such a visit.
The meaning of such bilateral meetings between leaders who see each other often at EU summits is to send out a powerful signal for the sake of bilateral relations, Cherneva said. At the moment, there is no such atmosphere, Cherneva said, adding that she hoped the meeting could take place before the end of the year.
On 22 September, the Netherlands and Finland opposed extending the Schengen zone to the EU's two newest members during a meeting of EU interior ministers.
The Polish EU Presidency insists that Bulgaria and Romania had fulfilled all technical requirements to join Schengen, which had been confirmed by the European Commission. But The Hague links Schengen accession with progress under the so-called 'Cooperation and Verification Mechanism' (CVM), put in place to address shortcomings in the newcomers' judicial reforms, in the fight against corruption, and, in the case of Bulgaria, the fight against organised crime (see background).
A less dramatic picture?
Contacted by EurActiv, a spokesman for the Dutch prime minister presented a less dramatic explanation for calling off the trip. He said that the decision to postpone the visit was mutual and had been made last week, adding that the sides were to find a suitable date for the visit to take place "somewhere in the near future". A similar visit to Rutte, Romania, was also cancelled.
"The dispute on Schengen is not a secret, but it's not the reason for the visit to be postponed," the Dutch official said.
In a recent resolution, the European Parliament regretted the veto by the Netherlands and Finland, with some MEPs accusing The Hague and Helsinki of falling prey to populism.
Romania's President Traian Basescu and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov reportedly had sought, without success, to discuss Schengen accession with Rutte over a 27 October summit of European leaders. According to sources, Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession could be included on the agenda of the December EU leadership summit, but it is doubtful that a decision would be reached.
The Romanian media quoted Finnish Interior Minister Päivi Räsänen as saying that her country would support Romania's Schengen accession in March 2012, in case of a "positive report" under the CVM.
