Former US ambassador to Bucharest Adrian Zuckerman blames the Austrian government’s blockade of Romania’s accession to Schengen on Russian influence.
The former US diplomat told Romanian public news channel TVR Info on Friday evening that “Austria, Hungary and the Netherlands should be ashamed” of more or less openly blocking the extension of the border-free Schengen area to Romania.
‘Russian influences at play’
The reasons for the Schengen veto in December are different: while in Austria and Hungary, according to him, “Russian influences” are clearly at play, the attitude of the Dutch authorities against the Schengen expansion with Romania and Bulgaria is more due to ” protectionism,” said Zuckerman.
‘Tugboats not active in Romania’
The former head of the US mission described the arguments recently put forward by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) during his visit to Bucharest against the extension of the Schengen region to Romania as “simply incomprehensible”.
The large tug rings are at work in the Netherlands, France and Western Europe in general, not in Romania. According to the US ambassador, who will be in Romania from 2019 to 2021, what is currently happening is “a disgrace” and that the Romanian authorities should not accept the status quo and “fight” for their country’s accession to Schengen.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
