Hungary supports Romania for its full accession to Schengen, Romanian Minister of the Interior Katalin Predoiu said in a phone interview, according to him, this is an important step towards achieving the goal, reports BTA. strong>
"Romania has good chances for full Schengen membership in 2024. The country is in a better position than last year and the final decision can be taken by the end of the year," commented Predoiu, who participated in the informal meeting of Council “Justice and Internal Affairs“ in Budapest on July 22. However, he noted that the situation is more complicated from a political point of view.
"We are still in the process of forming the European Commission, which will probably be completed in the autumn. Many European countries, including Romania, have elections that give rise to political problems. We must not forget that we are not alone in this process; Bulgaria is also included. There are many variables on the chessboard related to the general political context - elections, institutional issues, commissions and member states, and things are constantly changing", stressed Katalin Predoyu.
In front of Euronews Romania, the competent minister added that the country has reduced illegal migration by more than 80 percent, which has been assessed at the European level as a great success.
"The successful implementation of Schengen decisions on air and sea borders demonstrates Romania's ability to manage these responsibilities," he stated.
Predoju also announced that he met in Budapest with his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, who continues to oppose the extension of Schengen. Asked if Carner had changed his mind about the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, Predoyu replied:
"Mr Karner publicly acknowledged our successes in the fight against illegal migration. He recently made an important public statement in which he mentioned that in Austria, too, illegal migration has decreased dramatically over the past 12 months. This is the result of both the efforts of the Austrian border police and the work of our Hungarian and Serbian colleagues in the framework of regional cooperation and bilateral programs. We are fighting organized crime, human trafficking and illegal migration directly, and the results are visible. The applications of the Austrian minister are a good sign for the future", quoted by BTA.