Orbán: December 12 vote to decide on Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen membership
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said European Union interior ministers will vote on Dec 12 regarding a Hungarian proposal to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen agreement.
Following talks with Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu, PM Orbán told a press conference that important talks had been held and were still underway in Budapest, with the interior ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania discussing the enlargement of the Schengen area to include Romania and Bulgaria.
PM Orbán noted that Hungary was currently fulfilling the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. “When we last held talks with the prime minister in Bucharest, we were in agreement that the Hungarian presidency must be definitely used to speed up the process of Romania’s Schengen accession,” he added.
The prime minister said the current situation towards Romania was unjust as the country had made serious efforts to meet Schengen conditions in recent years and had done so for quite some time.
PM Orbán welcomed the fact that during Friday’s talks, the approach through illegal migration had been chosen. The interior ministers discussed in Budapest that illegal border crossings must be reduced significantly and the fight against illegal migration must be strengthened, he added.
The prime minister said that the participants at the talks established that both Romania and Bulgaria had made “fantastic progress in this regard” and the Hungarians, the Austrians, the Romanians and the Bulgarians were in agreement that all obstacles were removed that had prevented Romania’s Schengen accession.
He added that it had been agreed at Friday’s talks that all four countries would work on enabling Romania to become a full member of Schengen, not only by air but also over land, from Jan 1.
The decision requires the assent of all interior ministers of the EU, and it will be made in Brussels on Dec 12, Orban said. He added that the Hungarian presidency would make a proposal on the previous day based on today’s meeting.
PM Orbán said he expected Budapest to be famed for hosting the talks that “removed the last obstacle” and paved the way for the formal decisions.
If all goes to plan, drivers will not be required to stop at the Hungary-Romania border, he said, adding that “it’ll be a great moment for us all”.
The prime minister said he had also discussed bilateral issues with Ciolacu. He called bilateral economic ties “fantastic”, with bilateral trade “continuously increasing both in volume and value.” The two parties also agreed that investment in the other country was crucial; they will further support that Romanian goods are sold on the Hungarian market and Hungary exports its products to Romania, PM Orbán said.
Economic cooperation and Romania’s Schengen entry are especially important for communities on either side of the border, PM Orbán said, adding that the situation for those people was “unfair”. “Local communities there will at last be in a position to build their ties as required by the natural order of life,” he added.
With Romania’s Schengen entry, several roads crossing the border, which are used only on weekends, will open, PM Orbán said.
Meanwhile, the prime minister thanked the ethnic Hungarian party RMDSZ for its efforts towards Romania’s Schengen accession.