With its highly controversial decision to veto the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen, Austria is left virtually alone. Added to this is the indignation aroused among the populations of the countries concerned. More and more residents are heeding the calls of Austrian companies for a boycott – and now even a lawsuit is looming before the European Court of Justice.
Diplomatic relations with Romania seem more than broken. After the country recalled its ambassador from Austria, Romania’s Interior Minister wrote to Lucian Bode (Liberal Party/PNL) on Monday in an open letter to Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) accusing him of nothing less than breaking his word on the Schengen issue before .
Legal action at the European Court of Justice?
The blockade may also have consequences for the European Court of Justice (CJEU). Romanian MEP Eugen Tomac has called on the European Commission to challenge Austria for the right of veto before the EU Supreme Court. As the MEP of the European People’s Party (EPP – who also belongs to the ÖVP) argues, the blockade is denying Romania fundamental European rights, in particular the free movement of its citizens and the free movement of goods.
And also in the country itself there is a huge outcry because of the decision – as it has now become known, on Friday a branch of the Raiffeisen Bank in the city of Cluj was defaced with the words “Nazi Bank”. A note was taped to another branch with the words “Get out of Romania”.
Poll: Majority wants official boycott
More and more Romanians are also drawing personal consequences from the dispute. For example, the national trade union federation of the food industry has now announced that it will close accounts at an Austrian bank – along with a recommendation to all its members to do the same.
And a recent survey also reflects Romanians’ anger at Austrian politics. Nearly 50 percent of those polled said “external factors” were the deciding factor for the veto – and 56 percent clearly believed the country should take “measures against Austria’s economic interests” – this includes a boycott for 56 percent of those surveyed state purchases of Austrian companies.
Schallenberg tries to limit the damage
However, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) tried to soften the waves following the Schengen fiasco. As the Romanian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday, Schallenberg started talks with his colleague Bogdan Aurescu in Bucharest on Monday in the margins of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. The subject was Austria’s veto against the Schengen area, according to Romania’s foreign ministry.
Aurescu made it clear that his country could understand Austria’s concerns about increasing illegal migration. Schengen accession should not be “artificially combined with problems” that are certainly not at the expense of Romania, as all data from Frontex and Europol show.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
