The Austrian delegation no longer voted against the election manifesto of the European People’s Party, which calls for Romania to join the Schengen area as soon as possible, said NLP MEP Siegfried Muresan.

“This vote shows that the impasse has been overcome, and even if there were difficulties, we will overcome them and achieve full accession of Romania to the Schengen zone. The previously voted election manifesto, which will form the basis of the political program of the National Liberal Party, includes the following paragraph: “We need full access to the Schengen area for Bulgaria and Romania, abolishing not only air and sea controls, but also land border controls as soon as possible,” said Siegfried Muresan.

The Austrian press announced on Wednesday morning that delegates from Karl Nehhammer’s party, the ÖVP, which is participating in the European People’s Party Congress in Bucharest on Wednesday and Thursday, will oppose the EPP’s election manifesto, which also includes a paragraph proposing the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone “as soon as possible”.

Nuclear power and Schengen expansion are “red lines” for the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), Kurier notes.