Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu, after meeting his Austrian counterpart Gerhard Karner in Vienna on Tuesday, said that Romania will continue its good cooperation with Austria and all other member states, as well as with the European Commission, in order to improve the framework for migration and asylum, develop efforts on the external dimension of migration and bilateral and multilateral police cooperation against cross-border crime.

Romania will also increase the Border Police forces and continue investments, Predoiu added.

„Today I had a working meeting as a minister of a Schengen member state with air and sea borders. Romania is a Schengen member state. I am happy for the citizens who will benefit from this new status. It is a well-deserved status for Romanian citizens, well-deserved by Romania. We have worked and invested a lot for this accession to the Schengen Area; we have raised the level of border protection; we have invested hundreds of millions of euros in border security,” Predoiu is quoted as saying in a press release.

He mentioned that this is a milestone moment for Romania, which will take this road „all the way,” for which work must continue, Tuesday’s discussions having focused on these topics.

„So far, the history of Schengen does not include any example in which a state has entered with only one border and has remained without the other borders entered the Schengen area. So, before we answer your legitimate question, history will answer. Yes, of course, like the other countries, we will go all the way. For me and my colleagues, the big question last year was not when, but what we need to do to make it happen. And I have no intention of changing that approach. Instead of asking, subjectively, when might be the best time, we focus on what we need to do to get it done as quickly as possible,” Predoiu said.

AGERPRES