Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade, recently said during a visit to Bucharest that the Hungarian government will do everything possible to ensure that Romania can fully join the Schengen area by the end of the year. The area covers almost all EU states and ensures travel without land-based internal border controls.

Romania and Bulgaria became members of the Schengen Area with their airports and seaports only on March 31 this year. Land border checks were kept in place, stemming from the opposition of Austria.

Hungary holds the presidency of the EU Council until the end of 2024, despite tensions with the European Commission due to Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban’s friendly stance towards Russia. 

After discussions with Romania's minister of internal affairs Catalin Predoiu, Péter Szijjártó stated that it is primarily in Hungary's national interest for Romania to join the Schengen area, as the elimination of border checks would reduce long queues at border crossings.

Additionally, ten road connections, currently accessible only on Saturdays, would be available for traffic, according to a press release from Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by News.ro. 

Szijjártó also emphasized that Romania joining Schengen would facilitate connections between Hungarian communities on both sides of the border. He also noted that Romania is one of Hungary's main export markets, so Schengen membership would be extremely beneficial for Hungarian companies. 

"We have nothing to lose and everything to gain from Romania's accession to Schengen, and we will do everything we can to make this happen during Hungary's EU presidency," stated Péter Szijjártó.

"We hope that those who last time vetoed Romania's Schengen accession will not block the creation of a European consensus and a common European position this time," he added, referring indirectly to Austria without naming it. 

Péter Szijjártó also mentioned the signing of a bilateral agreement on cross-border cooperation in criminal prosecution, which "will help protect Hungary and Hungarians." He emphasized that both countries are on a route previously used by illegal immigrants and organized crime networks.

"They would do the same now if Romania and Hungary did not have such a firm stance against migrants, human trafficking, and organized crime," the Hungarian minister said.

He stressed that the parties agreed to further intensify this cooperation to maintain security. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Péter Szijjártó on Facebook)