The Minister of Internal Affairs, Cătălin Predoiu, said Thursday evening, regarding his visit to Austria, which he declared was “absolutely necessary”, that the statements of his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, regarding Vienna’s refusal to accept Romania’s accession to Schengen , were “for political consumption” and that “there were statements that did not translate sufficiently”. “I think the game is being played” and it’s “important to play it at all levels,” Predoiu said.
Catalin Predoiu and Gerhard Karner Photo: HELMUT FOHRINGER / AFP / Profimedia
Predoiu stated at Digi 24 that the previous statements of the Austrian Minister of the Interior showed that Austria’s position has not changed regarding Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, but that “it was important to reset the game, to approach it constructively through the prism of common interests”.
“Obviously we weren’t there to say, ‘You’ve changed your mind.’ It would be an unprofessional way to approach the file. It is necessary to get out of this paradigm, one comes and asks and another refuses, because a deadlock has been reached. It was important to reset the game, to approach it constructively through the prism of common interests. I mentioned that Romania and Austria have common interests. The Schengen file is not a simple dialogue between Romania and Austria, it is a multidimensional file, it has components of migration, international cooperation, regional geopolitics and more. It’s just very complex,” said the minister.
Next “build to start”
According to Predoiu, the statements of the Austrian minister after the meeting with him “were statements of political consumption, for his party, but they were also statements that were not translated sufficiently”.
“He thanked Romania three times for the actions taken, such as abolishing the clans. It was said that Austria does not have a direct problem with Romania, but with the European Commission. I put the migration figures on the table and they were not contested. Romania is performing well in this regard”, Cătălin Predoiu also mentioned.
Asked if Romania has any chance to enter the Schengen Area, the minister said that “multiple actions are being carried out, on various diplomatic levels”.
“We have assets, they must be played at the right times, without announcing or making random estimates or to please public opinion. I’d rather be responsible than reckless. I think the match is being played. It is important to play it at all levels and the economic component is very important. The business environment in Romania, with Austrian capital, is acting in the right direction”, concluded the Minister of Internal Affairs.
We remind you that the Minister of the Interior, Cătălin Predoiu, met, on Wednesday, in Vienna, with his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, who opposes Romania’s accession to Schengen.
The Austrian official’s message was “very clear”: Austria does not support the expansion of the Schengen area, further claiming that “the system as a whole does not work”.
Asked whether Austria would change its position by the autumn parliamentary elections, Gerhard Karner claimed that Vienna’s veto had “nothing to do” with the elections: “We are responsible for guaranteeing the safety of the population and this is not about parliamentary elections.”
2023-08-24 20:14:00
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