Austria's Karner, on Schengen: We have made very good progress, still a long way to go

The visiting Austrian federal minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, in Bucharest said on Wednesday that Romania has made very good progress in the fight against illegal migration, but there is still a long way to an effective protection of the external borders of the European Union.

"I have great understanding for the grievance of the minister and for the expectations of the Romanian people regarding the next stage of accession to the Schengen Area, but at the moment you have to think that even Austrian citizens have the same dilemma when they are subject to checks with Germany. We have made very good progress, we are on the right path, but we have to tell you that there is still a long way to go," said the Austrian minister.AGERPRES