New Schengen issue reaction: Romania will not ask for vote, will not seek deadlines anymore

Romania will not ask for a vote on its admission to Schengen at the Justice and Home Affairs meeting this week and will not consider any deadlines for finalizing the process, said Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Tuesday (March 5 ), after talks with the president Basescu and the interior and foreign affairs ministers earlier during the day. He also underlined Romania is not aware of any other official positions concerning Romania's Schengen admission, other than Germany's, which was expressed via the media.

Earlier, President Basescu said that in fact seven countries would have used their veto against Romania at a potential vote on Schengen expansion. After the high level meeting, the PM said probably The Netherlands would have also backed up Germany, and that ultimately for Romania it changes nothing if instead of one veto it gets several. “One is enough, and for this reason we think there's no use in breaking the European customs,” the PM explained. Romania will not consider any deadline for its Schengen admission, “as it is, in the end, about things which do not depend on Romania,” Ponta went on. He also said that he had asked the ministers in his Government to adopt a milder tone in the future, but that Romania still needs to be dignified in this case. His note comes after Foreign Affairs Minister Titus Corlatean publicly said that after a new No for Schengen admission, Romania should not be interested anymore, which provoked a wave of criticism. The president seems to agree to some extent with the Prime Minister's reaction, but would have asked for a new deadline, for fall or winter, rather than no deadline. Former Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister: Schengen delay can open door to free labor market delay Romania has been trying to join Schengen, together with neighbor Bulgaria, since 2010, but several states have continually opposed its entry into the border free zone, among which The Netherlands, France, and now Germany. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Gov.ro)