Romania May Join Schengen Area In 2023 - President

Romania May Join Schengen Area in 2023 - President

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that the country was 100% likely to join the Schengen area, and expressed his hope that it would happen already in 2023

CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2022) Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday that the country was 100% likely to join the Schengen area, and expressed his hope that it would happen already in 2023.

On December 8, the EU interior ministers agreed on the accession of Croatia to the Schengen area, but postponed decisions on Bulgaria and Romania due to objections from Austria, which accused the two countries of making weak efforts to fight illegal migration.

"I am 100% sure that Romania will become part of the Schengen area ... I hope that Romania will enter the Schengen area with full rights in 2023. For me I don't think I'm misrepresenting what is at stake is not a specific date when this will be discussed, but Romania's accession to the Schengen area," Iohannis told reporters.

The Romanian leader added that he could not give a more specific date yet. He also asked media to focus on the accession process and not on the timing of its implementation.

Currently, the Schengen visa-free zone includes 26 countries all the EU member states except for Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania, and non-EU states Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.