June 18 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The European Commission Friday adopted a decision allowing Bulgaria and Romania access to consult, in read-only mode, the Visa Information System (VIS) data as of July. The VIS database connects border guards at the EU's external borders with Member States' consulates across the world.

The two countries will be able to access information that already exists in the system, rather than entering new information. This comes after both countries successfully completed a series of technical tests required to connect to the system, the Commission said.

Access to the Visa Information System means that Bulgaria and Romania will be able to see the visa history of an applicant, which will facilitate their processing of visa applications. It will also allow Bulgarian and Romanian border guards to verify the validity and authenticity of Schengen visas issued by other Member States against the data stored in the VIS, helping to prevent fraud and fight serious crime and terrorism.

Read access to the VIS will be necessary for Bulgaria and Romania to run the Entry/Exit System, expected to enter into operation in the first half of 2022. Full access to the VIS will become possible once Bulgaria and Romania are fully integrated within the Schengen area. The Commission noted that it recently reiterated its call on the EU Council to take the necessary steps for Bulgaria and Romania to become part of the area without controls at internal borders. RY/DD