Austria is reportedly sole obstacle ahead of Romania's Schengen membership

Romania's accession to the Schengen area is still on the agenda of the JHA Council scheduled on December 8, 2022, sources within the Romanian Government told G4Media.ro, adding at the same time that The Netherlands no longer opposes the country's accession. This makes Austria, which recently expressed negative opinions, the sole obstacle ahead of the country's Schengen membership.

President Klaus Iohannis will meet Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer at a European People's Party (EPP) meeting in Greece on December 2-3, and one of the topics on the agenda is Romania's accession to Schengen.

The vast majority of member states insist on the importance of tackling Romania's Schengen candidacy at the next JHA, the sources told G4Media. The member states will have a new discussion in preparation for the JHA on December 7 2022.

Until then, however, during the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) on December 1, Austria was the only country that opposed keeping Romania's Schengen candidacy on the agenda. The Dutch representative expressed his appreciation for the proposals made by Romania and cited the report of the Dutch experts' missions in the country.

The JHA Council usually meets once every three months, with the next meetings scheduled for December 8, March 9, 2023, and June 8, 2023.

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