The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen is not on the agenda of the JAI Council on March 9-10, the first official meeting since December, in which Bucharest and Sofia remained outside the free movement zone. Member of the European Parliament Carmen Avram explained that Sweden, which currently chairs the Council of the European Union, stated very clearly from the beginning that it wants to solve the problem of Romania and Bulgaria, but will not force the discussion of this topic until it is sure that the dispute with Austria and the Netherlands is resolved. She noted that the EU has yet to write a migration plan, which, in her opinion, could leave Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer without arguments.

PSD MEP Carmen Avram believes that a pact on migration can calm the waters in the European Union, saying that, from what she knows at the moment, the European Commission would like to persuade member states to accept some of the migrants who in are going to Italy. , Austria and Spain. She noted that there are objections to this plan from Poland, Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands.

“The European Commission is still obliged to develop the migration plan it promised since 2015”

On Thursday at Prima News, Carmen Avram was asked why the topic of Romania’s accession to the Schengen area is not on the agenda of the JAI in March.

• “Regarding the JAI agenda, which we are not really on, Sweden, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, has been very clear from the beginning of its presidency that it is very keen to resolve the issue of Romania and Bulgaria. , but she will not force a discussion of the subject until she is sure that the dispute with Austria and Holland is settled.
• And this dispute is not resolved because these states, especially Austria, cannot clearly formulate a request, a complaint, so that we know what we must fulfill.
• The subject of Schengen is not on the agenda, except when the internal situation in the free zone is analyzed and the discussion about migration indirectly arises. I think this topic is very important because one of the complaints, or the only complaint that Mr. Nehammer was able to articulate, was that we would be a supplier of immigrants.
• The European Commission is still obliged to develop the migration plan it promised since 2015, when there was a wave of migrants caused by Germany,” said Carmen Avram, quoted by News.ro.

She believes that this pact on migration could reassure EU countries, including Austria, which are concerned about the very large number of migrants who have entered their territory.

• “If the European Commission mobilizes and manages to develop a plan accepted by all member states, we can see the waters calm.
• What the Commission would like, from what is known, from the draft of this program, is to persuade the Member States, all of them, to receive on their territory some of the migrants who enter countries such as Italy, Spain, Austria and they can resettle migrants on the territory of other member states.
• It would be about 5-10 thousand migrants per state, only up to this point there are objections from both Poland and Hungary, as well as from Belgium and the Netherlands. If this problem is solved, if this pact on migration is finally accepted, we will deprive Mr. Nehammer of arguments and he will have nothing more to say,” said the Romanian MEP.

The preliminary agenda of the JAI Council on March 9-10 includes a discussion of the general state of the Schengen area, more precisely, the current situation of the area’s functioning and the future policy in the field of visas.

Initially, after the December vote in the EU Council, during which Austria blocked the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen, the authorities and politicians talked about the March meeting as the next chance, but later the statements softened. Forcing a vote until Austria’s position changed would mean another failure.

What message did the Chancellor of Austria send from Bulgaria

At the end of January, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who opposed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen, was on a visit to Sofia, from where he once again announced that “the Schengen system is now in a major crisis.”

“The fact that Schengen does not work properly in Central Europe does not mean that Bulgaria and Romania should remain outside the Schengen area,” answered President Radev.

According to him, Romania and Bulgaria protect the external borders of the EU better than a number of Schengen countries.

• Chancellor Karl Nehhammer: “Austria’s veto remains in force until the situation fundamentally changes.” Conditions for obtaining Romania in Schengen

• When will Romania join Schengen? Response from the European Commissioner for Home Affairs / Concerns about the figures provided by Austria and the Netherlands

Johannis: I am optimistic that we will find a solution to this Schengen problem, but I would not like to commit to a specific date

On the occasion of the last meeting of the European Council in early February, President Klaus Iohannis reiterated that accession to Schengen remains a priority for Romania, but it should not be tied to a specific date.

• “We will continue political discussions at all levels, absolutely at all levels, and I am optimistic that we will find a solution to this Schengen problem, but I would not like to be tied to a specific date.

  I repeat, for me, for Romania and for Romanians, it is important to join the Schengen zone.

  I do not want to tie the debate to a specific date because, as I also saw in December, these things cannot be tied to a specific date, they are linked to many considerations, the Europeans must.

  Unfortunately, however, they also concern domestic policy issues in some Member States. This is something I don’t think is good, but it cannot be ignored. Therefore, we are continuing negotiations, and I am optimistic,” the head of state said on February 9.

Even if Romania’s accession to the Schengen area is on the agenda of the Swedish presidency of the EU Council, a decision may not be taken during this mandate, which will postpone the matter until the second half of the year.

Aurescu: It is premature to talk about the admission calendar

At the end of January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bohdan Aurescu, at the first meeting of EU member states’ foreign ministers in 2023, said that he had discussions with his colleagues who would assure him that they support Romania’s accession to Schengen, but “it is premature to talk about Romania’s accession schedule.”

He also said that he had received assurances from his Swedish counterpart about the start of “consultations” that the Swedish presidency of the EU Council wants to organize with the states that oppose the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen. We are talking about Austria and the Netherlands.

• “It is very important that these consultations, which Sweden will start, come to conclusions, and then we talk about the schedule. It is difficult to estimate that Austria will change its position before the internal elections (nr- from the end of January).
• It is premature to talk about the accession calendar,” Aurescu also stated.

The foreign minister also said that it is difficult to assess the accession calendar even in the conditions in which Bulgaria has to convince the Netherlands: “We must not forget that Bulgaria also has to discuss with the Netherlands, not only with Austria. . Therefore, there are a number of requests from the Netherlands, which should find a certain answer from the Sofia authorities.”