Dok pristupanje Šengenskoj zoni ovisi od ispunjenja seta tehničkih kriterija, glavni argument Pariza i Berlina bio je da te dvije balkanske zemlje nisu pokazale materijalan napredak u borbi protiv korupcije i organiziranog kriminala.
While accession to the Schengen zone hinges on the fulfillment of a set of technical criteria, Paris and Berlin's main argument was that the Balkan pair had failed to show tangible progress in the fight against corruption and organised crime.