Romania, one step closer to joining Schengen?

Following Germany's announcement, Romania could be one step closer to joining Schengen

Daniela Budu, 30.08.2022, 14:00

Bucharest authorities have hailed Germany’s support for Romania’s
Schengen accession bid, and have thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his message
of support in this respect. In his address on the EU meeting in Prague, the
German Chancellor said Romania, Croatia and Buglaria have complied with all
technical criteria for becoming a full member of the Schengen Area, which must
be protected and developed. I will act to make sure they become full members,
the Berlin official said. The announcement follows after France’s president,
Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to Romania in June, equally announced his
support for Romania’s critical objective. Following Monday’s announcement made
by Olaf Scholz, president Klaus Iohannis underlined on social media that
Romania joining the Schengen Area is a national objective of strategic
importance.

In turn, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă said the move might give a
significant boost to Romanian exports. Chamber of Deputies Speaker, Marcel
Ciolacu, said Romania deserves to be in Schengen, a move that will
significantly shorten waiting times for the transport of merchandise. The
announcement is extremely important, as for the first time Germany announces
its unconditional support at international level, Romania’s Foreign Minister,
Bogdan Aurescu, said in turn. Interior Minister Lucian Bode said Romania’s
Schengen accession remains a key objective for our country, also hailing
Germany’s public support. Political pundits in Bucharest say, however, it will
take a longer time before Romania will join the travel-free area. Radu Magdin,
a foreign policy consultant and commentator.

I don’t know how
long it will be, but it will certainly take a while. Don’t expect the Dutch
government to miraculously come out and say ‘hey, we’ve seen what the Germans
said, and given they are a big and strong nation and we coordinate our efforts,
we will be lifting any opposition towards Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen
accession’. Therefore, the political signal is, indeed, important. The
Netherlands’ opposition regarding our accession might remain in the short run,
as we won’t be seeing a change of attitude any time soon. But again, the
political message is what matters.

Romania has over 2,000 kilometers of EU borders, and was supposed to join
Schengen 11 years ago. Germany was one
of the countries that opposed the move, invoking such reasons as corruption and
judiciary-related issues. Later, some countries have toned down their
opposition, with the exception of the Netherlands. (VP)