Romania’s prime minister Nicolae Ciuca, in an interview with Bloomberg, said he expected Romania - after more than a decade of waiting - to win entry into the EU’s passport-free Schengen area before the end of the year.

The step would eliminate lengthy waits at Romania’s borders with other EU states and boost its attractiveness to foreign investors.

Brussels will also drop a regime that monitors Romania’s progress in reforming its judiciary and stamping out corruption (the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism or CVM) after years of criticism from the EU executive, he said.

“Everything we did since the conflict started shows that we are prepared to become a member of Schengen,” Ciuca stated. “We really do expect all the other EU leaders to recognize everything we did.”

(Photo: Gov.ro)

andrei@romania-insider.com