Romania's president Klaus Iohannis met with the chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, in Bucharest on Thursday morning, March 7, in the context of the European People's Party (EPP) congress. 

Romania's full accession to the Schengen area was among the topics discussed, as Austria has been the sole opponent of Romania joining the border-free area while only agreeing with the "Air Schengen" option. This means that ports and airports are essentially integrated into Schengen while land borders remain in place.

"In my discussion with Chancellor Karl Nehammer we agreed to continue the process for RO's full accession to Schengen until we reach this final objective. The EU has to be united, strong, prosperous & this will further strengthen the EU security for the benefit of all our citizens," Iohannis said in a post on X. 

In my discussion with Chancellor @karlnehammer we agreed to continue the process for RO🇷🇴's full accession to Schengen until we reach this final objective.The EU has to be united, strong, prosperous&this will further strengthen the EU security for the benefit of all our citizens. pic.twitter.com/lkWTtUDYTw

— Klaus Iohannis (@KlausIohannis) March 7, 2024

In his turn, also in a post on X, Karl Nehammer reiterated that Austria still stands against Schengen's expansion. After the meeting with the Romanian president, he said: "Romania is an important partner of Austria. Our companies are strongly involved in Romania and create many thousands of jobs there. Many Romanian citizens work in nursing jobs in Austria and support people in need of care. At the same time, we also spoke very openly about the Austrian objections to rapid Schengen expansion. Austria's position remains clear and unchanged: the Schengen system is currently not working, therefore it cannot be expanded."

Heute bin ich in Bukarest beim Kongress der Europäischen Volkspartei @EPP . Wir bereiten uns gemeinsam auf die wichtigen Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament im Juni vor. Auch ein Gespräch mit dem rumänischen Präsidenten @KlausIohannis stand auf dem Programm. Rumänien ist ein… pic.twitter.com/6cCjUozBxD

— Karl Nehammer (@karlnehammer) March 7, 2024

Later on Thursday, during his speech at the EPP congress in Bucharest, Karl Nehammer talked again about migration, one of Austria's reasons for blocking the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area.

"We can see that within the EU, the parties are radicalizing, both on the left and the right. And this is not good for our Union. That means that it is our duty to take people's concerns and fears seriously. We need to look at why they're turning to radical parties. […] We need to show that we take people's fears and concerns seriously. For example, migration, especially illegal migration. My friends, we need defense on our external borders," Nehammer said.

"[…] Those border states need enough funding so that they can finance their protection. We need swift asylum procedures, we need shared asylum procedures, and we need to ensure that those who are not allowed to stay within the Union are removed from it," he added.

Approximately 2,000 participants from 44 countries have been invited to take part in the EPP congress hosted by Romexpo in Bucharest on March 6-7. 

During the congress, the EPP adopted a manifesto, which states: "We need full Schengen admission for Bulgaria and Romania, lifting not just air and sea controls, but also land border controls, as soon as possible. We need to repair the currently dysfunctional Schengen Area, particularly by further strengthening EU's external border protection and by preventing illegal migration to Europe, in order to realize a secure and completed Schengen Area without internal border controls."

On Thursday, during the same congress, the party also confirmed Ursula von der Leyen as its lead candidate for the European elections, thus backing her for a second term as European Commission president, Politico reported.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Klaus Iohannis)