Enlargement of the European Union and "morally imperative", which reflected the desire of the EU to admit these countries as members, even though they were less developed than the Western European countries. Following this Romania and Bulgaria, though were deemed initially as not fully ready by the Commission to join in 2004, acceded nevertheless on 1 January 2007. These, like the countries joining in 2004, faced a series of restrictions as to their citizens not fully enjoying working rights on the territory of some of the older EU members. Bulgaria and Romania are not yet members of the Schengen area; however, their citizens can travel
Asylum in the European Union Fund, which will be responsible for assisting Member States in the management of asylum applications. Chachipe a Roma rights organisation has criticised EU asylum policy that denies Roma from the former Yugoslavia asylum based on the "safe country of origin" doctrine, as they face discrimination in their home countries. 12 EU countries already have national lists of safe countries of origin. Asylum in the European Union Asylum in the European Union (EU) has its roots in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, an agreement founded on Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following the