Emphasising the contribution of Romania and Bulgaria in preventing illegal migration to the EU, the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis, said earlier this week that he hopes the two countries will be let into the Schengen Area.
The same stressed that Romania and Bulgaria are doing everything they can to protect the borders and expect to receive a positive vote on their entry into Schengen this year, SchengenVisaInfo.com reported.
Reuters explains that the two EU states were kept out of Schengen last year because Austria was against them joining the Area over illegal migration concerns. However, the claims of Austria have been rejected by Romania and Bulgaria.
“Illegal migration is only artificially mixed into the Schengen issue. We are doing and will do everything we can to curb illegal migration. However, we expect that our right to be part of Schengen is recognised, and we hope to receive a positive vote this year,” the statement of president Iohannis reads.
Despite the two countries hoping to join the Schengen Area this year, Austria said at the beginning of this year that it remains firm on its stance against the expansion of the Area.
The Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, said during a visit to Bulgaria that the country continues to have illegal migration concerns and the same stressed that the Schengen Area can not be expanded right now as the system is in a major crisis.
“It is clear that our Schengen veto is not directed against a country, but that the Schengen area does not work and cannot be expanded at the moment,” Nehammer stated.
On the other hand, despite Austria opposing the enlargement of the Schengen Area, Romania has said that it will continue to remain determined in its efforts.
The Minister of Interior of Romania, Lucian Bode, just recently reiterated Romania’s commitment and pointed out that the decision to permit the country join the Schengen Area will benefit the two parties.
Bode said that the security of the EU external border, Schengen borders, and the security of EU citizens would be greatly increased with the accession of Romania into the Schengen Area.
Source: www.schengenvisainfo.com
