The President of Romania held a short press conference on Thursday evening regarding the calendar of Romania’s accession to Schengen, after the meeting of the European Council in Brussels.

Klaus Iohannis claims that we are not on the verge of a diplomatic crisis with Austria and that the problem will be resolved “by itself, at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced on Friday that it had summoned Romania’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Austria, Emil Hurezianu, to the country for consultations, “a political gesture that underlines Romania’s position of strong disagreement with Austria’s behavior and indicates a decision to lower the current level of relations with this state”.

Austria’s ambassador to Romania did not take part in Tuesday’s meeting of President Klaus Iohannis with the ambassadors of the European Union member states accredited in Romania, a deputy was present instead.

Iohannis wants full Schengen membership by 2023

The president says that Romanian diplomacy has taken steps forward and expects full accession to the Schengen zone in 2023.

“My conclusion is simple – all subjects understood that we have a problem that needs to be solved. I am optimistic and hope that during 2023 the process will be completed with a positive result for Romania and Bulgaria. I presented the fact that Romania is ready to become part of Schengen. I also said something about solidarity and unity. Romania is a frontline country when it comes to the war in Ukraine. We strive and face it. We are a frontline country for the flow of migrants. We have very good results. Romania is the country of the first line when it comes to transport lines of solidarity from Ukraine to the countries of the world,” Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday in Brussels, News.ro reports.

No specific admission schedule

He says we should push for a European plan to get guarantees of entry.

“This means that we have legitimate hopes of being accepted into the Schengen zone. I can tell you that no one objected to me. We still have a long way to go. Austria’s vote and the Netherlands’ mixed vote are issues that still need to be resolved, but I conclude that this time the preparation will be better, more in-depth, and a solution is desirable. I told them we want a solution within 2023. (…) I expect that Romania will enter Schengen with full rights in 2023,” the head of state added.

At the same time, he also clarified that there were no discussions regarding a specific calendar for admission.

“We haven’t discussed a specific calendar, and I don’t think now is the time to discuss a specific calendar. We need a lot of discussions in the next period,” Iohannis concluded.

“The prime minister of Sweden understood very well the issue of Romania’s accession to Schengen”

The President noted that he discussed with the Prime Minister of Sweden the issue of Romania’s accession to Schengen, given that Sweden will preside over the European Council for the next six months.

“I had a discussion with the Prime Minister of Sweden, I presented the problem to him, he understood it very well. Of course, he did not make a firm commitment during the discussion, which was the first exploratory discussion, but I am convinced that as soon as the two questions – the vote of Austria and the vote of the Netherlands – receive clarification, the question will be immediately considered by the Council of the JVS. Klaus Iohannis said in Brussels.

The head of state believes that no one is interested in this issue being negative for the European Union.

“No one – and I say this firmly – is not interested in this problem turning into something negative for the Union again. This is a very difficult period, we have many crises, the EU does not need another failure, because it happened,” the head of state said.

We remind you that Romania, which has been waiting for 11 years to join Schengen, has not entered the European free movement zone this time. Austria managed to block a favorable decision in the JAI Council on Thursday, as Schengen entry requires unanimity. It was joined by the Netherlands on the condition that they oppose the accession of Bulgaria, and the vote was cast “together with Romania”. While Romania and Bulgaria remained outside Schengen, Croatia was admitted in a vote held on Thursday in the JCC Council, so that the country will enter Schengen from January 1, 2023.

Austria has named a large number of illegal migrants arriving in this country, one of the routes is Romania, data denied by the authorities in Bucharest.

On the same topic:

• How Austria’s interior minister responds to Lucian Bode, who told him that “nothing great can be built on lies and injustice”
• The figures given by the Chancellor of Austria, after Romania’s refusal to join Schengen, are relativized by two experts on migration