Frustration in Romania over the Austrian government’s ongoing Schengen blockade is growing and louder. Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said in an interview with private broadcaster Antena 3 that he was “angry” with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and his attitude.
“The whole region and all of Europe see the fantastic potential of Romania,” Ciolacu said. “Romania has brought balance to Europe. (…) That is why I was angry with the Austrian government and Chancellor Nehammer. You cannot help but understand the role that Romania has played and continues to play in the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine (…),” the head of government said.
As is well known, Vienna justifies the red-white-red veto with the high number of irregular entries via the Balkan route. In early March, Nehammer said during a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Johannis in Bucharest that there was still “no concrete timetable” for full admission to the Schengen area.
The government in Bucharest wants a happy ending until the elections in late autumn
With presidential elections scheduled for late autumn and parliamentary elections in December, Romania’s coalition government of the PSD and its liberal junior partner (PNL) has been trying to bring a happy end to the painful Schengen saga as soon as possible, as both coalition parties expect electoral gains from it. In July, government leader and PSD leader Ciolacu raised the prospect that the country would join Schengen, including its land borders, by the end of the year. Ciolacu did not give any reasons for this optimism at the time.
Source: Krone
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