MEP Karin Carlsbrough, a member of the liberal party in Sweden’s government, said on Tuesday that the authorities in Stockholm support Romania’s accession to Schengen and that a negative vote in the parliament is unworthy of her country.

“The Swedish government, including my party Liberalerna, supports the admission of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria to the common borders of Schengen. Foreign policy is not included in the agreement between the government and the Sweden Democrats. Together, the opposition parties Social Democrats (S&D) and Sweden Democrats (ECR) have a majority in the Swedish parliament. Now they are joining forces to make Sweden’s position negative. Opposing the accession of Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria to Schengen is a nationalist and populist position unworthy of Sweden, and I am very dissatisfied with the position that Sweden will have to take in the Council,” the MEP wrote on her Facebook.

His reaction came after the Swedish Parliament’s Justice Committee rejected the government’s proposal for a mandate to support the accession of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia.

Botosh: “Perhaps, it would be good for Mr. Cholak and the supporters of his holiness to discuss with their partners”

After Karin Carlsbrough’s publication, USR MEP Vlad Botos commented that “our partners at RENEW have put in a lot of effort” so that the Swedish government can reach “an agreement favorable to Romania on Schengen accession”.

“Perhaps it would be good for Mr. Cholak and his lordship’s supporters to talk to their partners and clarify things. At the moment, the Swedish Socialists are involved in trying to form a parliamentary coalition to stop the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. The USR is making every effort for Romania to join Schengen, and I think it is not too much if we expect any Romanian side to do the same,” Botos said.

Why is the vote of the Swedish Parliament important for Romania’s accession to Schengen?

The vote in the Justice Committee of the Swedish Parliament took place after the union of social democrats and extremists from the Sweden Democrats party. Sweden’s government is a minority government supported in parliament by the Sweden Democrats.

Why is voting in the Swedish Parliament important? Because it gives the Government a mandate. But it is important to say that Romania still has a chance. The deciding vote is not a vote in the Justice Committee. The final word will rest with the European Affairs Commission, which will meet for a vote in December, just before the JAI Council, where it will be decided whether Romania will be admitted to Schengen. If by then there is a repositioning, in the sense that the social democrats who are members of the PES will return to the line of the European family, then everything will change for Romania.

• How Sweden can contribute to Romania’s accession to Schengen. The chance that Bucharest still has after the signal vote in the Stockholm Parliament

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