Romania – Blocked at the threshold of the Schengen area by the opposition of Austria, Romania seems to be losing patience.
On this issue, Romania’s official position (the most moderated one) is determined and represented by Romanian President Klaus Johannis (EPP), who refrains from challenging a new vote against Romania’s accession before the European Court.
PM Ciolacu, from the socialist PSD, however, considers that this is the way forward in the event of a future failure of the vote at the JHA Council in December. At the farther end of that spectrum, we find MEP EugenTomac, from the People’s Movement Party – a minor, extra-parliamentary national-conservative party created in the wake of the Băsescu administrations. Recently, the General Court of the EU dismissed as „manifestly inadmissible” the action for annulment brought by Tomacagainst the Council of the EU regarding the decision not to accept Romania into the Schengen area.
As reported by Adevărul, “The European Court ruled that the decision of 8 December 2022 could not be considered an act against which an appeal could be lodged, as (…) the complaint was not lodged by a privileged complainant, such as the Romanian State….”
While Johannis cannot afford politically to be seen as waging “Eurosceptic rhetoric”, on the ground in Romania, popular discontent against the Schengen blockage creates political capital for oppositional challengers.
While still advocating against judicial moves, Klaus Iohannis gave assurances that diplomatic efforts were being made, but he questioned the functioning of the Schengen area at a time when more and more countries have resumed border controls in the context of the conflict in the Middle East:
„… while Romania is doing a good job of stopping illegal migrants (…) This dialogue is becoming increasingly strange, when every time Austria clearly says that it has nothing against Romania or Bulgaria, but that it is opposed to the enlargement of the Schengen area, while at the same meeting it accepted Croatia’s accession. (…) We know that we meet all the criteria, but the reality is that the Schengen area no longer functions and hardly exists. (…) Even in our region, in the east of the Union, there have been successive border closures. Someone might think that we want to conclude an agreement that no longer works.”