Bucharest, Oct 13 (IANS): The Netherlands is not against Romania's accession to Schengen, visiting Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

"Romania has taken many steps in the right direction in recent years...we can talk about accession to Schengen when all the conditions are met... But the Netherlands is not in principle against Romania's accession," Rutte told a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Wednesday.

The Dutch Prime Minister said that accession must be achieved "in a transparent and fair manner".

The Romanian President expressed optimism regarding his country's accession to the Schengen area.

Failure to meet this goal would lead to a rise in Euroscepticism, he said.

Iohannis reiterated that Romania meets the technical requirements for accession, and already acts as a de facto member of the Schengen area in terms of protecting European Union borders and participating in solidarity.

Interior Ministers of the Schengen area will vote in December on whether to approve Romania and Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, after a more than 10-year wait.