September 23, 2023 10:28 p.m
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According to publications in Austrian media, Romania is blocking Austria’s participation in NATO meetings. Two Austrian army officers have been waiting in Brussels for weeks for NATO accreditation. Access has been delayed by Romania, which has asked for time to think, reports public radio and television ORF, quoted by BTA.
It is believed to be a reaction to the Austrian government’s veto of Romania’s Schengen membership.
The Bucharest delegation to NATO did not want to comment. In a statement on the case, a NATO spokesman praised Austria’s long-standing partnership and stated: We rely on Romania and Austria to resolve those bilateral issues that would affect the activities of Austrian officers at NATO posts.
“The Ministry of Defense in Vienna has contacted the relevant NATO services through the military representation in Brussels,” army spokesman Michael Bauer told the newspaper. In addition, the ministry is in close contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Austrian Federal Government.
Austria is linked to the Alliance through the “Partnership for Peace” and NATO-led operations mandated by the UN Security Council. Austria’s participation in NATO meetings was already blocked by Turkey after 2016 for years. Then the reason was the Austrian veto on Ankara’s EU accession negotiations.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Călăcu recently stepped up pressure on Austria and demanded that it approve his country’s accession to Schengen by December. “If Austria votes against Romania’s accession to Schengen at one of the next two meetings of the ministers of the interior and justice of the EU, we will contest the decision before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU),” said the prime minister.
MEPs call for: The authorities in Bulgaria and Romania to join efforts for their acceptance into Schengen
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2023-09-23 19:35:40
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