The UDMR (Democratic Union of Hungarians of Romania leader, Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor, states that the postponement for 11 years of Romania’s accession to Schengen was the consequence of the fact that some states opposed it on grounds other than technical ones, which „is unacceptable”, according to Agerpres.

As of January 1, 2023, Romania should be admitted to the circulation area without border controls, he said, while adding that he is positive Netherlands will also „understand” this.

„There is still an assessment to come, in the context in which 11 years have already passed since the last assessment. Of course we meet the technical criteria in 2022, which are the only criteria needed to be met for entering the Schengen Zone, there are no other criteria, only technical ones. Normally, Romania, alongside Bulgaria and Croatia, should join Schengen on January 1, 2023, when it comes to land and water transport, with airports to be included as of March next year. I think this will be the decision,” said Deputy Prime Minister Kelemen Hunor, while in Arad on Thursday.

He added that „we cannot accept this discrimination forever” and claimed that „there is still some reluctance on behalf of the Netherlands.”

The head of the UDMR is attending, in Arad, the Romanian-Hungarian Reconciliation Park, in commemoration of the 13 generals executed at the end of the 1848-1849 Revolution, an event that the Hungarian community holds every year on October 6.

The Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union will seek to achieve unanimity at the summit in December regarding the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Zone, the Czech Minister of European Affairs Mikulas Bek announced on Wednesday, during the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg.

The Czech official stated that visits by European experts to Romania and Bulgaria in this respect will begin next week.

Agerpres