President Klaus Iohannis declared, on Thursday, that Romania has a chance to join the Schengen area, but not a guarantee, stressing that the result of the evaluation mission that was in Romania is a very good one, but there are still issues that need to be further clarified, according to Agerpres.

„Accession to Schengen is much desired by us, and as I think it has been a known fact for 11 years, we practically fulfill the technical requirements. Accession was not achieved because until the end there is also a political vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council that did not take place until now. Now there is a window of opportunity, that is, we have a chance, but we do not have a guarantee. In order to maximize our chances, we have taken many steps,” said the head of state before participating in the European Council meeting.

President Iohannis welcomed the vote in the European Parliament for the resolution regarding the accession of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia to Schengen, stressing that it is a political vote.

„The vote was overwhelming for the access of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, but the decision is not taken there. It was a political vote, a very important political signal for us,” stated Iohannis.

He mentioned the evaluation mission that was in Romania, showing that the result is very good for our country.

„From the information we have, the result is very good for Romania. The evaluation found that Romania is doing very well in this chapter, but it is clear that certain issues still need to be clarified very well, probably even some technical ones, but especially some political and for that everyone is involved to the maximum,” said President Iohannis.

Agerpres