Romania will continue political discussions for Schengen accession, president Klaus Iohannis said Thursday, adding that in the next weeks he will make a visit to Bulgaria for talks, but also for a signal that the two countries are ready to join the free movement space.
"We will continue the political talks on all levels, on absolutely all levels, and I am optimistic that we will find solutions for this Schengen problem, but I wish we didn't cling to a certain date. I repeat, for me, for Romania and for the Romanians, it is important to enter the Schengen area. I do not want us to link the discussion to a certain date, because, we also saw in December, these things cannot be related to a certain date, they are connected to a lot of considerations, they should be European. Unfortunately, however, they are also correlated by domestic policy issues in some member states. That is something that I do not find good, but it cannot be ignored. So, we continue the discussions and I am optimistic," the president said before attending the extraordinary meeting of the European Council.
He specified that Romania will take joint steps with Bulgaria to join Schengen.
"I have discussed this issue with president Rumen Radev and yes, we will also do joint actions. I will also go to Bulgaria in the next few weeks for the discussions, but also to give a signal that we are ready," president Iohannis assessed.AGERPRES