The Austrian press writes on Friday that the Austrian ambassador in Bucharest was not handed a note of protest from Romania, and the minister Bohdan Aurescu did not participate in the discussions at the MAE, but the state secretary.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Bohdan Aureska, summoned the Austrian ambassador in Bucharest, Adelheid Folieu, on Thursday evening to hand her a note of protest from the Romanian government regarding Austria’s “unjustified and unfriendly attitude” regarding Romania’s accession to Schengen. This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria confirmed Foley’s “invitation”. However, they did not give him anything,” Vienna.at writes with reference to the Austrian press agency APA.

“The conversation did not take place with Foreign Minister Aurescu, but with Romania’s Secretary of State for European Affairs,” the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna told APA.

“The Romanian side said that Austria’s veto would have “inevitable consequences” for bilateral relations. The Austrian diplomat was also sent a protest against Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer’s recent accusations that Romanian authorities are putting pressure on Austrian companies operating in Romania, given the country’s expected entry into the border-free Schengen area. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest, such statements are “simply unacceptable” because they do not correspond to reality,” the cited source writes.

However, it should be noted that according to the press release of the Romanian MAE, the ambassador was informed about the protest against Austria’s decision to block Romania’s accession to Schengen, and it is not specified that she was given any document on this matter. It is also not specified with whom she met.

“On the instructions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador of the Republic of Austria in Bucharest was summoned this evening to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform her of the position of Romania outlined above and the protest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the unjustified and unfriendly attitude of Austria, which will have inevitable consequences for bilateral relations. The ambassador of Austria was informed that the negative vote of Vienna is even more unexpected in the context of the existence of long diplomatic relations with more than 100 years of tradition between our countries, as well as significant bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic sphere – Austria is one of the most important economic partners of Romania and the second foreign an investor on the Romanian market. Likewise, Romanian-Austrian cooperation at the regional and European levels, as well as close coordination in matters of common interest at the international level, had significant weight in Austria’s vote. Also, a strong protest was sent to the ambassador against the accusations made by the Austrian authorities regarding the so-called pressure on Austrian companies, statements that are inadmissible and that do not correspond to reality,” said the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. given to the media on Thursday evening.