Minister of Foreign Affairs Bogdan Aurescu said on Monday that Romania and Croatia are ready to join the Schengen Area and are part of the solution that the European Union needs at this moment in terms of managing migration flows, according to Agerpres.

Aurescu had a meeting with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Grlic Radman.

„As far as the European agenda is concerned, I and Mr. Minister [of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia] have approached, as a matter of priority, the objective that both states are pursuing in this period, namely the accession to the Schengen area, against the background of the most recent developments recorded in this file. We share a common evaluation, namely that the enlargement of this space will contribute to the strengthening of the European Union’s external borders, to the creation of a stronger and more resilient Schengen area in the face of challenges to the internal security of the Union. Both Romania and Croatia are prepared for accession and are part of the solution that the European Union needs at this moment in terms of managing migration flows, and it is also clear that it is in the interest of the European Union that the Schengen area is strengthened by including both states,” Aurescu said after the meeting.

The discussions also concerned the accession of Romania and Croatia to the OECD.

„We are candidates together in this process and we are working together for the next steps towards the accession negotiation process,” said Aurescu.

The Croatian Foreign Affairs minister said that his country expects a positive decision from the European Council regarding the accession to the free movement area and that he supports the adoption of the same decision for Romania and Bulgaria.

„Croatia expects a positive decision from the European Council to join the Schengen area. In this sense, we support the adoption of the same decision for Romania and Bulgaria,” said Gordan Grlic Radman.

He welcomed the report of the European Commission proposing the completion of the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism for Romania.

The Croatian official is conducting a visit to Romania.

Agerpres