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Romania must become a full member of the Schengen Area, because it has since long fulfilled the technical requirements in this regard, Minister of Culture Lucian Romascanu on Monday told a conference titled "For a Europe that leaves no one behind", organized by PES activists Romania and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) on the occasion of Europe Day.
"We need all the lobbying and all the support of our political family and not only for Romania to become a full Schengen member. We have since long fulfilled the technical requirements. We are faced with small political issues and frustrating nuances. We have a Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. Why do we still have it? There are things that we need to say out loud, from here, and we need to be supported, because solidarity and equality also mean equal treatment," Romascanu said.
According to the minister, Romania is no longer in danger of "slipping."
"On an emotional level and given the way we treat you, you have already been in the Schengen Area for a long time and sometimes we indeed have to remember that we have certain rules in place and we really need to somehow make up for this gap, because there are a lot of people like me who, at the moment, would be heading for a flight to Romania to the gates of the Schengen Area," said Vice-President of the European Parliament Evelyn Regner.
Asked how she sees the future of Europe, Evelyn Regner said that it entails a good life, a good work-life balance. "It seems very simple, but it's about respect for nature, for others, and especially for young people," she said.
For his part, Victor Negrescu, Vice-chair of the Culture & Education Committee of the European Parliament and national coordinator of PES activists Romania, highlighted the European solidarity in the context of the war in Ukraine.
"We stand more united, more in solidarity, we understand more the responsibility we have and the advantages of belonging to the European Union more than ever and that, in fact, this unity, this European family is not a given thing and that unfortunately we can lose anytime what we have gained - our peace, our ability to grow together, to build things together. All these elements, our values are threatened today and have been subjected to pressure over time, whether we are talking about the pandemic or the economic crisis, and each time we have sought together to provide an appropriate response," Negrescu said.
Constantin-Alexandru Manda, member of the Council of Europe's Youth Advisory Council, winner of the "Young European of the Year 2021" award, said that tomorrow's Europe should be one that leaves no one behind, in which every child, regardless of family income, background or ethnicity should have free access to quality education.
AGERPRES
