Schengen: Romania welcomes “milestone” after many “humiliations”
Published: Sunday, Dec 31st 2023, 10:40
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The government in Bucharest has welcomed the decision by the EU states to lift checks on people at the air and sea borders with Romania. At the same time, however, President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu emphasized on Sunday that the lifting of controls at the land borders and thus the country's full accession to the Schengen area is now a top priority. Romania has been a member of the EU since January 1, 2007.
After "13 years of failure and humiliation" in the Schengen accession negotiations, the government has begun an irreversible process, said Prime Minister Ciolacu. President Iohannis described the step achieved as a "milestone".
The EU countries agreed on Saturday to extend the Schengen area to Romania and Bulgaria. Accordingly, checks on persons at internal air and sea borders are to be lifted from the end of March 2024. A decision on lifting controls at land borders will be made at a later date.
The Schengen area is intended to ensure the unrestricted movement of people in Europe. To date, 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have belonged to it.
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