How many refugees can Romania take in?
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Roxana Vasile, 08.09.2015, 14:07
Romania can host 1,785 refugees in six temporary reception centers. Our country has expressed its solidarity with EU Member States hit by a large wave of immigrants fleeing conflicts in the Middle East or Northern Africa. According to president Klaus Iohannis, there is no immigrant pressure in Romania at present, which is why our country will employ responsibility and calm when dealing with this issue.
On September 17 the president has summoned the countrys Supreme Defense Council in a special session in order to present his standpoint on our countrys voluntary quotas for the distribution of refugees. The British press last week wrote that responding to Brussels request, Romania was to take in some 7,000 refugees, which the Romanian authorities dismissed at the time.
President Iohannis said that Romania shares Europes concern for the growing phenomenon of migration and that in order to avoid xenophobic or chauvinistic reactions, each country should be allowed to submit its own refugee quotas. Physical space for taking in refugees is one problem, as old barracks might be turned overnight into reception centers. But the more complex problem is integrating refugees into the Romanian society. This view was recently shared by Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who said Romania cannot receive a number of immigrants above its reception capacity.
Victor Ponta: “Romania needs to be a European country and display solidarity with everything thats happening in Europe. And this solidarity entails rights and obligations, meaning we have the same obligations as other states, we need to have the same rights, too. And now maybe other people will realize the injustice Romania has suffered with Schengen accession. The very countries calling on us to show solidarity in the refugee crisis are the exact countries that repeatedly postponed a decision on our Schengen accession.
Romanias accession to the travel-free Schengen area was postponed, although our country has fulfilled our technical accession criteria. This however may turn to our advantage, president Iohannis believes. No one will simply allow Romania to enter Schengen without proper monitoring. European leaders and politicians are now calling for a review of the way Schengen is really functioning.
These talks can be very delicate, which is why Romanian authorities have included on the agenda of the Supreme Defense Council meeting of September 17 an analysis of Romanias bid to join Schengen. In the meantime, Romanias Foreign Ministry is looking at the possibility of finding a solution to counter not only the effects, but also the root cause of the mass exodus of refugees. The discussion about distribution quotas, the Ministry believes, does not even touch the surface of the problem.
