After a meeting with the ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark in our country, Denmark joins the states supporting Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, Foreign Minister Bogdan Orescu announced on Monday. Over time, some EU countries, including Germany and France, have not supported Romania’s accession, but they recently expressed their support. German Chancellor Olaf Scholes announced last week that Romania meets all the technical criteria for full membership, but the Netherlands appears to be the last major state yet to give the green light.
Other EU officials have also expressed their support for Romania’s accession, and the European Parliament has voted for it several times. During his June visit to Romania, French President Emmanuel Macron also said that “France is with Romania” in terms of joining the Schengen area.
For more than 10 years, Romania has met the technical criteria to enter the Schengen area, but despite the support of the European Parliament and the European Commission, at the political level, its access to the Council of Europe has been blocked several times.
Over the years, some EU leaders have invoked issues of justice and corruption to prevent Romania from joining Schengen. Among the states that opposed Romania’s accession to Schengen were, for many years, Germany, France, but also the Netherlands.
Meanwhile, Germany and France declared their support for Romania. The Netherlands, on the other hand, was skeptical about our accession to Schengen.
Currently, 26 countries have joined the Schengen area. Four of these are not part of the European Union: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Romania has successfully completed all steps towards accession. But the final decision on Romania’s entry into Schengen must be made by the European Council, which brings together the heads of government or governments of the EU’s 27 member states.
Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and as a result of international measures taken in this regard, the executive from Bucharest expressed confidence that Romania is moving closer to joining the Schengen area.
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said in an interview with the Bloomberg publication that Romania could become a member of the Schengen area starting this year, after more than a decade of waiting. According to the prime minister, the country’s accession to Schengen is becoming a very quickly achievable goal, in the context of the aid provided by Romania since the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the state’s involvement internationally.
Read more: What are the benefits of accession to Schengen for Romania?
Orescu: Denmark supports Romania’s accession to the Schengen area
Foreign Minister Bogdan Orescu received Ufe Balsle, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark in Romania, on Monday to present copies of the letters of recognition.
According to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting provided an opportunity to assess the state of bilateral relations between Romania and the Kingdom of Denmark, which are at a very good level, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed his desire to strengthen Romania. Politico-diplomatic and sectoral dialogue.
Regarding economic cooperation, Foreign Minister Bogdan Orescu encouraged the expansion of the presence of Danish companies in Romania and the intensification of direct contacts between the two business environments at the central and local level. These efforts can bring bilateral relations as a whole.
Minister Bogdan Aurescu noted that our country has fulfilled the conditions for entry into the Schengen area, the efforts to manage more than 2.2 million Ukrainian refugees crossing the Romanian border, and positive messages in favor of Romania’s entry. For the recently created Schengen Area by several European partners. In this context, he noted that Romania continues to count on the support of the Danish side to fulfill this important objective for our country.
For his part, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark in Romania expressed his country’s full support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen area.
In terms of security, Minister Bogdan Aurescu reiterated his appreciation for Denmark’s decision to participate in European security cooperation, which will contribute to raising its profile as a relevant actor in managing the crises facing the EU.
Both officials highlighted the excellent Romanian-Danish cooperation at the EU and NATO level and the importance of maintaining a close coordination, especially relevant in the current complex security environment. In this register, there was an exchange of views on the economic, energy, food and security challenges facing the European Union as a result of the war of aggression initiated by the Russian Federation. In this context, the Romanian diplomatic chief provided details of Romania’s support to Ukraine, emphasizing humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees and facilitation of grain transport.
At the end of the meeting, the Romanian diplomatic chief assured the interlocutor of the full support of the Romanian authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the development of his future activities, and wished him full success in fulfilling his mandate in Romania.
Ciucă: France and Germany are Romania’s supporters regarding the Schengen connection
Nicolae Ciucă thanked France and Germany on Monday for their support for joining the Schengen area, noting that “both countries seem to be supporters of Romania” in the process.
These clarifications were made during the Grand Matinal digital event organized by French Trade and Industry in Romania. CCIFER President François Coste and French Ambassador to Romania Laurence Auer spoke at the event at Victoria Palace.
“You talked about the positive effects of France’s mandate at the EU presidency; also, President Macron’s visit to Romania – these are moments that I highlight every time and I take this opportunity to thank France for everything it has done so that Romania feels as close as possible to this national desire and, ultimately, to win . are considered by law to be members of the Schengen area. I thanked Germany, I thanked France. We do it one more time, and both countries seem to be our supporters along the way. This is a national goal, and we must work to the end to achieve it,” Ciuca said.
Nicolae Cuucă expressed hope that after joining the Schengen area, Romania will also become an OECD member.
“At the same time, I think it is important to bring the receipt of the road map to become a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a road map that was signed in Paris and we were able to coordinate through our embassy in Paris. It is very good with the OECD, in this way, after we enter the Schengen area. , we will enjoy ensuring full access to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in the most well-coordinated way possible,” he said. Prime Minister
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