Some states confuse migration with Schengen, Romanian president says

"Romania is not a source of migration and it is not a transit country, we know how to protect our borders," Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said before attending the European Council on Thursday, February 9. He emphasized that "migration should not be confused with Schengen," although "some states" are linking the two.

The president also said he would go to Bulgaria in the next few weeks for discussions and to signal that “we are ready” to join Schengen.

“We will talk about aspects of migration, that is, how to better protect the external border of the European Union, how to return migrants more quickly, how to process asylum requests more quickly, and so on. These things are important,” Iohannis said, cited by Digi24. “I want to say once again and be very clear: Romania is not a source of migration and Romania is not a transit country. We know how to protect our borders. However, the problem is a European one and so it is clear that we also want to participate in finding the best solutions,” he added.

To that end, Iohannis said, Romania is open to collaborating with the European Commission on a pilot project meant to put in place faster, more efficient procedures regarding migration.

“Migration should not be confused with Schengen. Schengen refers to the freedom of movement for European citizens, and when we talk about migration, we are talking about procedures aimed at people coming from outside the European Union. It's completely different,” the president added.

The Romanian head of state noted that “some member states” have linked Schengen with migration. “We have taken note of this issue and, for this reason, we want to find the best solutions. Romania was never part of the problem, but we always try to be part of and contribute to the solution,” he said.

Despite expressing optimism regarding Romania’s bid for Schengen membership, Iohannis was also cautious about advancing a specific date for accession. “As we saw in December, these things can't be tied to a specific date, they depend on very many European considerations. Unfortunately, they also depend on internal politics in some member states. That's something I don't consider beneficial, but it can't be ignored,” Iohannis noted.