BUCHAREST, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Romanian government approved on Wednesday the national strategy on Romania's joining the Schengen area with the goal of the country's accession to Schengen area by 2011.

    The strategy includes the main lines of action that the authorities and relevant institutions will take in order to join the Schengen Area according to the timescale it has put forward.

    Such timescale sets the specific strategic goals pursued, the financial resources, the judicial implications, the monitoring and evaluation procedures, the identified risks and the consequences of joining the Schengen area.

    After Romania became a full member of the European Union on Jan.1, 2007, the country has entered a new phase which means it should prepare and adopt the necessary measures for the elimination of controls at the internal borders with a view to the subsequent accession to the Schengen area.

    Romania has been preparing systematically for the accession to the Schengen area concurrently with the conduct of activities aimed at joining the EU. The actions in this field followed the route set in the Schengen Action Plan.

    Schengen Action Plan is a program document setting the preliminary criteria of the participation to the Schengen area, with a view to identifying and prioritizing the actions to be adopted in order to meet the preliminary requirements for the full implementation of the Schengen acquis.

    The status of a Schengen member state entails the elimination of the controls at the common internal borders of the states participating in this area and the establishment of a space of freedom, security and justice by the introduction of compensatory measures.

    Gaining such status involves the previous meeting of certain standards on borders, police cooperation, visas, personal data protection and the achievement of the Schengen National Information System.