Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu spoke on Monday with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, as well as with his Belgian counterpart, Hadja Lahbib, about our country’s accession to the Schengen Area. The discussions took place on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which takes place in Brussels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs(MAE) informed, in a press release sent to Agerpres.

According to the cited source, Bogdan Aurescu thanked the Italian side for „the firm and constant support shown for Romania’s accession to Schengen”.

The Romanian official emphasized „the need to find a constructive solution to unblock the situation, considering that Romanian citizens are fully entitled to benefit from the rights of Schengen membership”.

In this context, he informed about the ongoing steps of the Romanian side in the dialogue with Austria, the other member states and the European Commission to further promote the goal of Romania’s accession to the free movement area with a view to a positive decision.

MAE shows that Minister Antonio Tajani „reiterated Italy’s determined and active support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area and indicated that he will be getting involved in resolving the file”.

Bogdan Aurescu also thanked his Belgian counterpart, Hadja Lahbib, for Belgium’s support for Romania’s accession to Schengen.

The head of Romanian diplomacy also informed his Belgian counterpart about the ongoing steps of the Romanian side in the dialogue with Austria, the other member states and the European Commission for Romania’s accession to Schengen.

The Belgian Foreign Minister reiterated „Belgium’s strong support for Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, including in talks with Austria and the other European partners, in order to successfully complete this file”.

Agerpres