PM says Romania still needs endorsement from some states for Schengen membership

The European Commission and the European Parliament support Romania's accession to the Schengen area, but further steps need to be taken to reach a consensus in the European Council, Romanian prime minister Ludovic Orban said during his visit to Brussels, local News.ro reported.

Orban believes that Romania will get unanimous support within a reasonable time horizon.

On January 9, PM Orban said that his discussions with European officials addressed the Schengen issue as well as the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (invoked by some EU member states as an obstacle ahead of Schengen membership).

"From our point of view, Romania respects all the conditions for joining Schengen. Regarding the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), we have expressed our determination to transpose the recommendations contained in the annual report and our belief that Romania will comply with all standards and good practices at European level in the field of justice,” said Orban.

Romania’s PM added that he noticed a change in the attitude of the European officials after the change of the government last November, but having the CVM lifted [in order to smooth the way toward Schengen membership] depends on concrete steps taken in Romania.

“The European Commission has a different attitude towards the officials in Bucharest, both the Government and the President, it very clearly understands that a beneficial change has taken place in Bucharest. But in the end the closure of the CVM will depend on what we do in Romania,” explained the prime minister.

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(Photo source: Gov.ro)