The members of the European Parliament, gathered in a plenary session in Strasbourg, requested on Tuesday evening, in a debate, a favorable decision of the Council of Justice and Internal Affairs (JAI) from December 12-13 regarding the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area and they reminded that the two countries have been fulfilling the necessary technical conditions for many years.
“After long years of negotiation, after the criteria were met in 2011, after the progressive approach, finally, Romania and Bulgaria will become members of the Schengen area. The decision must be approved by the Council, we cannot accept any other outcome. It will require strength, capacity and flexibility. But the time has come to stand up for an EU internal security strategy worthy of this name. It’s time for more Europe, not less,” said MEP Lena Dupont, on behalf of the EPP group.
According to the Bulgarian MEP Kristian Vighenin, representative of the S&D group, the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area will mean a reduction in the cost of transport, but also an improvement in the competitiveness of European companies.
For his part, Fabrice Leggeri, from the European Parliament group ‘Patriots for Europe’, drew attention to the need to strengthen the land border between Bulgaria and Turkey and the one between Greece and Turkey, “even financing walls”.
On behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group, MEP Claudiu Târziu recalled that “Romania has for many years met all the conditions for full accession to the Schengen area, a truth that no one can dispute.” “Nevertheless, we were kept in a too long and humiliating wait at the door of the Schengen area, without much explanation. In the end, after negotiations, postponements and very serious concessions made by Romania, only part of our right was recognized. During this period, the Romanian economy and dignity suffered a lot”, revealed the Romanian MEP.
“Romania deserves to join the Schengen area and I am here to ask for your support so that this goal is achieved immediately”, he addressed the MEPs, stressing that it is inadmissible to extend land border controls for a few more months.
MEP Fabienne Keller, from the Renew group, welcomed the imminent accession of Romania and Bulgaria and the land borders to Schengen and qualified it as “a victory for the European project as well”.
“Thirteen years of waiting meant suffering for Romanians, very high costs, billions, billions of euros that went out of Romanians’ pockets, pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, but they also meant a passive feeling of being a second-class citizen and many took this feeling with pain, because they love Europe. Moreover, (this feeling) has fueled the discourse of the extreme right which has now pushed a candidate who is pro-Russian into the second round of the presidential elections. It’s sad, but let’s still be happy today that we hear these encouraging messages to see Romania and Bulgaria, in January, with everything in Schengen, including land, sea and air”, stated, in his intervention, MEP Nicu Ştefănuţă, from the group The Greens, who is also vice-president of the European Parliament.
Romanian MEP Dan Barna (Renew) argued that any delays regarding Romania’s accession to Schengen are unacceptable. “We ask that this term be respected not as a kind concession, but as a recognition of our rightful place in the Schengen area and please ask yourself, when we see the wave of populism and extremism in Europe, if the denial of this right has not was, perhaps, one of the causes”, said Barna.
“After 13 years of waiting, this injustice can finally be corrected. Romanians will be part of Europe without borders if in December the interior ministers validate the decision regarding the full integration of our country into the Schengen area. Today I hope is the last debate of this kind here, in the plenary of the European Parliament. During all these years of waiting, we acted constantly, we initiated the petition, we discussed and convinced European officials and we even changed the European legislation. In the last three years, we obtained tens of millions of euros, European funds for the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area”, said, for his part, Victor Negrescu (S&D), vice-president of the European Parliament.
His group colleague Vasile Dîncu stated that joining the Schengen area is a strong signal of European solidarity and would confirm that compliance with the criteria and commitments assumed is a value also respected by the European institutions. “We don’t want a gift, we want what we are obliged to have and, moreover, we are entitled to get. I warned from this forum, as a Romanian, that this will affect Romania electorally. Călin Georgescu, the populist candidate who won the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, said about Schengen: ‘Europe is a dungeon. I’m glad I didn’t go in.’ We want the European Union to act justly and decisively on December 12”, declared Dîncu.
The former European commissioner for transport Adina Vălean, currently an EPP MEP, liked to point out that every border generates higher prices for goods, a fragmented internal market for transport and unnecessary carbon emissions. “A Europe with Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen means more prosperity not only for the citizens of these countries, but for all European citizens”, said Vălean.
Non-affiliated MEP Luis Lazarus referred in particular to the economic damage recorded by our country by postponing Romania’s accession to Schengen for years. “I would recommend to the European Commission that in the future, perhaps, they consider that when someone throws a veto on the table and no longer receives a country in Schengen or for completely different reasons, they should be penalized. So, I propose that Austria, for example, give us about 50 billion euros because it vetoed the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area”, said the MEP.
Daniel Buda (PPE) appreciated that Romania and Bulgaria have been providers of security and stability at the border of the European Union for over 11 years. “After many years of waiting, finally, they will join the Schengen area in January 2025. Historic moment for both countries, but also for the entire European Union. The road to get here was long. We had periods of uncertainty and discouragement, which unfortunately fueled an anti-European trend among our citizens. But today we can say that we succeeded. This success is not only an achievement for Romania, but also a significant step for the entire European Union, strengthening our unity and fundamental values”, said Buda in his speech.
Austria has recently shown its readiness to lift the right of veto regarding the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen free movement area.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country holds the six-monthly presidency of the EU Council, announced for his part that the interior ministers of the European Union will vote on December 12 on Hungary’s proposal to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join with the land borders the Schengen area.
Source: www.cotidianul.ro
