Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu, attending a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), on Monday, in Brussels, said “it is premature” to talk about “a specific calendar” regarding Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area.
In this context, the head of the Romanian diplomacy mentioned, in a phone-in with private TV broadcaster Digi 24, the discussion with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.
“It must be said that Germany supports us very firmly and actively and wishes to take very good steps with all the decision-makers, including with Austria, with the European Commission,” stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Aurescu also spoke about the perspective of starting consultations on the topic of the Schengen file, in the context of the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union.
“The Swedish presidency is extremely determined to deal with this topic as a matter of priority,” he said.
Bogdan Aurescu also reminded that on January 29, elections are organized in Austria, the country that opposed Romania’s accession to the European free movement area. “Before this date, it is difficult to estimate what Austria’s position will be”, added the Romanian minister.
According to him, the reassignment of Romania’s ambassador to Vienna represents a “gesture of openness on the part of Romania”.
“All these gestures and our efforts will continue, they must accumulate and we must see what exactly emerges from this type of process,” said Bogdan Aurescu.
In terms of the prospect of the Schengen file, the Romanian Foreign Minister stated: “We cannot ignore objective realities, such as those related to Austria or the migration situation on the Balkan route, where Romania is not placed. (.. .) This is also the reason why the Chancellor of Austria is in Bulgaria and not in Romania”.
Commenting on the vote against Romania’s accession, he appreciated that “Austria showed that it is the only European state that opposes accession into the Schengen Area, while all other member states support this accession”.
German Minister for Foreign Affairs reconfirms strong support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area
German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock appreciated Romania’s position and efforts and reconfirmed “the strong support and active and concrete involvement of her country aimed at continuing the process of the Schengen Area enlargement, through Romania’s accession as soon as possible”, informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Monday.
The Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, had a meeting with his German counterpart, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), in Brussels, states the MAE.
In the context of this meeting, the cited source shows, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs informed about the ongoing steps of the Romanian side, mentioning the positive dialogue with the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as the talks held with a number of European counterparts on this topic, including the Austrian counterpart, in Davos.
“The openness of the Romanian side towards a constructive cooperation with all the parties involved, in order to identify concrete solutions that will lead to the achievement of this objective” was also emphasized.
The two ministers also had an exchange of views on the preparation of the future Ministerial Conference of the Moldova Support Platform – an innovative tool created last year by the Romanian, German and French Foreign ministers, an event that will take place in the spring in Chisinau, and they agreed on the start of work at the level of experts to this end, the MAE release further informs.
Talks with Italian and Belgian counterparts about Romania’s accession to Schengen Area
Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu spoke on Monday with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, as well as with his Belgian counterpart, Hadja Lahbib, about our country’s accession to the Schengen Area.
The discussions took place on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which takes place in Brussels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MAE) informed, in a press release sent to AGERPRES.
According to the cited source, Bogdan Aurescu thanked the Italian side for “the firm and constant support shown for Romania’s accession to Schengen”.
The Romanian official emphasized “the need to find a constructive solution to unblock the situation, considering that Romanian citizens are fully entitled to benefit from the rights of Schengen membership”.
In this context, he informed about the ongoing steps of the Romanian side in the dialogue with Austria, the other member states and the European Commission to further promote the goal of Romania’s accession to the free movement area with a view to a positive decision.
MAE shows that Minister Antonio Tajani “reiterated Italy’s determined and active support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area and indicated that he will be getting involved in resolving the file”.
Bogdan Aurescu also thanked his Belgian counterpart, Hadja Lahbib, for Belgium’s support for Romania’s accession to Schengen.
The head of Romanian diplomacy also informed his Belgian counterpart about the ongoing steps of the Romanian side in the dialogue with Austria, the other member states and the European Commission for Romania’s accession to Schengen.
The Belgian Foreign Minister reiterated “Belgium’s strong support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, including in talks with Austria and the other European partners, in order to successfully complete this file”.
