President Klaus Iohannis voiced his optimism, on Wednesday, in relation to Romania’s accession to the Schengen area, adding that a failure to meet this national objective would lead to the rise in Euroscepticism, deeming it a hypothetical option, according to Agerpres.

While visiting the Getica National Joint Training Centre in Cincu, central Brasov County, together with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, President Iohannis stated that the Schengen issue was discussed „in extenso”.

„The discussion was positive. None of us imagines that we can fail in this endeavor, but it is, on the other hand, quite clear that those 11 years have passed since the last evaluation, and those from the EU, our partners, would like to receive confirmation that hereafter we have not only adhered to certain Schengen procedures, but also did our homework in the other areas. The Schengen procedures did not remain at the level of 2011, but have evolved. We are trying to complete the procedure as quickly as possible successfully. I am optimistic,” said the head of state.

He explained that accession to Schengen is not „a technical automatism”, recalling that the vote is given by consensus in the Justice and Home Affairs Council and has „a strong political component”.

According to him, failure regarding the Schengen accession is not an option, but, in the hypothetical case of such a decision, Euroscepticism would rise in Romania.

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca declared, for his part, that Romania’s accession to the Schengen area will also help the surrounding countries and the European Union.

Agerpres