Romania's new prime minister Marcel Ciolacu said the government would launch an "extended plan" for the country's accession to Schengen, which will be aimed at persuading Austria to remove its veto. However, he did not give a date for the accession to avoid creating "false expectations."

"I will ask the new minister for interior [Cătălin Predoiu] and the new minister for foreign affairs [Luminita Odobescu] to present an extended plan for the months to come to see what can be done to change the veto applied by the right-wing government from Austria," the Romanian PM said in an interview with Euractiv.com.

He also said that those in charge last year, when Austria vetoed Romania's entry into the Schengen area, missed that opportunity, but "this does not mean we will give up." He noted, however, that those who were responsible for this file back then are no longer in their roles.

"I have already been in touch with the upcoming Spanish Presidency to the EU Council and the European Commission to see what they plan to do on this file in the second part of the year," Marcel Ciolacu said.

"We need to involve everyone in the process and the elaboration of the strategy and build a national coalition with all those interested in helping Romania achieve this objective," he added.

Austria vetoed Romania's accession to Schengen in early December 2022, despite support from the European Commission, the European Parliament and a majority of member states, quoting an increase in illegal migration.

While on a visit to Romania in April this year, Austria's interior minister Gerhard Karner remained firm about his country's position on extending the border-free Schengen area. Days later, the Austrian foreign minister doubled the 'no' for Romania's Schengen bid.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea)