In the dispute over Romania’s accession to Schengen, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and President of Romania Klaus Johannis today expressed in Bucharest their hope that the issues currently standing in the way of accession can soon be resolved positively, to the benefit of both countries,” as a spokesperson for Van der Bellen said. The two presidents met for talks at the Three Seas Initiative Summit.
The Federal President “has always represented the clear position that European integration was and will continue to be extremely important for the export-oriented Austrian economy”. Many local companies are “very successful and highly respected” in Romania. Johannis tweeted that he appreciated the fact that Van der Bellen “continues to advocate a solution that allows Romania to join the Schengen area as quickly as possible.”
Romania’s accession vetoed
In December last year, Austria vetoed the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the borderless Schengen area. This was justified by the high number of asylum applications in Austria.
There were more than 100,000 illegal border crossings into Austria in 2022, of which 75,000 were not registered, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) said at the time. “It’s wrong that a system that doesn’t work in many places is being expanded here.” President Johannis described the decision as “profoundly unfair”.