Romania’s Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, has said that the “pieces are quite well placed” for the full membership of Romania to the Schengen Area.
However, despite having optimism about the country’s progress, Predoiu stressed that nothing is predetermined and nothing is decided yet, Schengen.News reports.
The Romanian Interior Minister told Digi 24 that he would meet with his counterpart from Austria, Gerhard Karner, on November 22, where both countries will discuss the chances of full accession of Romania to the EU’s borderless area.
Romania entered Schengen by air and sea on March 31, 2024, but not by land borders. Irregular migration concerns were among the main reasons cited by Austria that led to the objection to membership of Romania and Bulgaria for many years.
In spite of the fact that Austria agreed to partial Schengen accession for Romania and Bulgaria, last month, the Minister of Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner, talking about the land border accession for these two countries, said that the time has yet not come for the full membership of these two countries.
However, a recent report from the Austrian newspaper Kurier notes that Austria is now paving the way for the full membership of these two countries to the EU’s passport-free travel zone.
Recently, the Minister of Interior of Romania, Predoiu, talked about the upcoming meeting, stressing that Romania is waiting to see what will happen after this meeting. The minister added that illegal migration, border protection, and return policy will also be discussed during this meeting.
Romania’s MFA Cooperating With MAI for Full Schengen Accession
Recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminiţa Odobescu, told Digi 24 that she is cooperating with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) in preparation for the meeting of November 22, 2024.
Regarding the finalisation of Romania’s Schengen membership to the Schengen Zone by the end of this year, she said that the signals are positive, but she would not want to anticipate these discussions on Romania’s behalf.
Source: https://schengen.news/romania-optimistic-about-full-schengen-accession-progress-after-november-22-meeting-with-karner/
