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The response of Austria's Chancellor regarding Romania's accession to Schengen is, unwittingly, "a gift for Vladimir Putin," because he proved, among others, that the European solidarity has broken, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) Kelemen Hunor stated on Thursday, told Agerpres.
"Here, there is a matter of conspiracy theory. Certainly, it is a gift, but that was not the Chancellor's intention. The Chancellor, very uninspired, on a matter of home affairs, he gave a miserable response. I don't think that he wanted to offer a gift to Putin, but it did it, because (...) the European Union needed a successful story in this period of interior tensions. And this was the successful story: 'Here is a war, economic crisis, energy crisis and, however, we manage to enlarge the Schengen area and Europe can stand in solidarity.' And this solidarity has broken. Any time when solidarity is broken, it is a gift for Valdimir Putin, without any doubt, but I don't thing that was the intention," Kelemen Hunor told Interviurile Digi24 broadcast, when asked whether Austria's attitude is a gift for Vladimir Putin.
He added that the European Union is a construction that, at the time, doesn't handle many tensions and "renouncing the consensus culture would be the biggest mistake, because then, the EU, enters another age, much more tense."
When asked who is to blame for Romania failing to join Schengen, Kelemen Hunor showed that "Austrians," because Romania has met all the necessary criteria stipulated in the agreement.
According to the UDMR leader, Austria "violated the Schengen Agreement" which doesn't mention political criteria, but technical criteria.
However, Kelemen Hunor believes that the situation should not be turned "into a political or ideological matter," although it rises the question "whether there is a discipline in the European People's Party" and that a "very swift" solution would be to reintroduce the topic on the 2023 calendar.
"We must come with a political response to a wrong political decision. (...) It's not very hard to find that point when Austria needs your support either in the European Union institutions or in the international institutions, and, yes, a political sanction is needed, which is to follow, I am convinced, I don't know when. But Romania, as a state, cannot afford to be humiliated and not reply to such a blow from the Austrians, because then, people will understand that it works like that. In respect to the boycott, the boycott is a individual matter. Here, one cannot give any direction, order or prohibit when we it comes to natural persons and not companies, private or state-owned, because it's not the minister who orders where a certain company opens an account," the Deputy PM added.
