The European Commission is reiterating its support for the accession to the Schengen Area of Romania, who has fulfilled all the necessary technical criteria, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday after meeting Romania's President Traian Basescu in Brussels.

He said the European Commission has reaffirmed its support for accession because it believes Romania has fulfilled all the criteria necessary for accession and its accession is a matter of fairness. He said he wants to convey to the Romanian people that the European Commission is supporting the objective of their country's entering the border-free Schengen Area and is doing its best to break the impasse generated by the political obstacles coming from the Netherlands and Finland.

President Basescu paid a working visit to Brussels on Tuesday to meet Barroso. He will return to Brussels on Wednesday to attend an informal meeting of members of the European Council and follow-up of Euro summit, which precedes a Euro Area summit meeting and analyses the proposals of the ECOFIN Council of EU economic and finance ministers for overcoming the ongoing financial crisis.