The Schengen accession issue has become an entirely political one and no decision is expected by the end of 2013, a diplomatic source in the Council of the European Union said, according to Novinite.com website.
The source reiterated for the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA) that the countries which had blocked the decision on Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen accession were the Netherlands, Germany and France.
He suggested that a consensus would be difficult to reach because many countries are skeptical about extending the area of free movement. .
The source stressed that the situation would not change even if the European Commission reports developed under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, by the end of 2013, would be positive.
Asked to comment on the plans to prevent social benefits tourism from Eastern to Western Europe, the diplomat said that it was important that the EU observe its own legislation.
After the Internal Affairs Council meeting in early March, only ten countries have stated their support for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area .