The Dutch Minister for Immigration and former mayor of Maastricht, Gerd Leers, on Tuesday told journalists waiting outside the European Council that the Netherlands hasn't changed its mind regarding their opposition to Romania and Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area.

"I'm not and enemy of Bulgaria and Romania. I'm a friend of Europe, so I want to be 100% sure that no criminals and no corruption will interfere with our internal market", the minister said.