Romanian president, Austrian chancellor discuss Schengen during meeting in Bucharest

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