Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party and leader of the EPP group in the European Parliament, sent a message of support on Saturday to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who has blocked Romania’s entry into Schengen. Just two days ago, Weber affirmed, together with the Romanian MEPs of the PNL (member of the EPP), that the problem of illegal immigration from Austria will not be solved by keeping Romania out of the European area of free movement.
Manfred Weber, President of the EPPPhoto: Jean-Francois Badias / AP / Profimedia
- “The situation for Austria due to the uncontrolled flow of migrants is unacceptable.
- Karl Nehammer has our full support that this must change.
- The Schengen law must once again be applied correctly at the EU’s external borders,” Manfred Weber wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
The situation in Austria due to the uncontrolled flow of migrants is unacceptable. @karlnehammer he has our full support for that to change. Schengen law must once again be applied correctly at the external borders of the EU. https://t.co/lAHHriQVY1
— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) December 10, 2022
“We know that Russia wants to divide the European Union”
On Wednesday, one day before the JHA Council meeting regarding Romania’s Schengen accession, the leaders of the EPP, the most powerful party in the European Parliament, held a series of high-level meetings with Austrian officials in Vienna and sent a message of support for the country Ns.
The EPP chairman, Manfred Weber, announced that he had met the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, and that informed him that there is no reason for Vienna’s opposition to Romania’s accession to Schengen.
- “This is a moment where we have to be honest: we understand Austria’s problems with illegal immigrants, but Austria hasn’t said anything about it so far.
- Nothing will be resolved regarding migrants if we keep Romania out of the Schengen area. (…) It is a very particular situation in Austria, because the Socialist Party is against the expansion of Schengen. We have to understand that it is a small country with 100,000 migrants.
- I see and understand their frustration, but you cannot solve one frustration by creating another by keeping Romania and Bulgaria out of the Schengen area,” Weber said after meeting the Austrian chancellor.
He insisted that Romania and Bulgaria have made enormous efforts to meet the accession criteria and have implemented the Schengen rules for many years.
Furthermore, Weber said that unity at the European level is needed, since Russia “is interested in dividing the EU”:
- “We know that Russia wants to divide the European Union and the support we send to Ukraine, so we must do everything in our power to preserve our unity within the EU. This means helping each other.”
We remind you Once again Romania, which has been waiting to join Schengen for 11 years, has not entered the European area of free movement, although it had the support of 26 EU member states. Austria managed to block Thursday’s JAI Council’s favorable decision, as unanimity is required for joining Schengen. The Netherlands joined it, under the conditions in which it opposes Bulgaria’s accession, and the vote was given “together with Romania”.
