Diplomatic incident in Chisinau during the visit of the President of Austria. President Maia Sandu’s dog, Kodrutz, bit the Vienna-based leader’s hand when he bent down to comfort the speechless, stiri.tvr.ro reported.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, whose role is formal, says the federal government’s decision to block Romania and Bulgaria from joining Schengen was wrong and he hopes “one day it will be reviewed”.

“As the president, I did not agree with this decision”

• “When the federal government of Austria said “no” to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen zone, I, as president, did not agree with this decision. I didn’t see any reason to block Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen, given that the system doesn’t work anyway.
• The question is huge, and one of the questions will be how to control the flow of people seeking work or asylum in one of the countries. However, in my opinion, this has nothing to do with Schengen.
• I believe that the decision of the Austrian federal government was wrong and I hope that one day this decision will be reviewed.
• For several months, I had discussions with the presidents of Romania and Bulgaria, but I have no executive power. I repeat, this decision was not correct,” said the Austrian president, quoted by tv8.md.

The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen was blocked by Austria and the Netherlands at the JCC Council in December 2022. Bucharest had the support of 26 EU member states, but was blocked by Austria, which continues to oppose it.

It will be recalled that the Chancellor of Austria and the leader of the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) Karl Nehammer has repeatedly justified the blocking of the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen zone by the fact that they will not prevent the flow of illegal migrants who reach the borders of the European Union to enter the community space.

Most recently, Nehhammer said in late October that the extension of Schengen under the current conditions was “inconceivable” and that the free movement area should be “fixed”.

The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), a far-right party that takes an even tougher stance on migration than the current government led by Karl Nehhammer, is leading Austrian polls ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections.

The latest opinion polls show that if federal parliamentary elections were held now, the FPÖ would win 29% of the vote, 13% more than it won in regional elections two years ago.

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