November 28 (SeeNews) - Romanian foreign affairs minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Monday that his country and Croatia are ready to join Europe's free-travel Schengen area.
"Both Romania and Croatia are ready for accession and are part of the solution that the European Union needs at this moment in terms of managing migratory flows. It is clear that it is in the interest of the European Union that the Schengen area is strengthened by including both states," Aurescu said during a joint news conference with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic Radman in Bucharest.
According to Aurescu, the expansion of the Schengen area will contribute to the strengthening of EU's external borders and to the creation of a stronger and more resilient Schengen area in the face of challenges to the EU's internal security.
The Romanian foreign minister also said that over 2.9 million Ukrainian refugees have crossed the border into Romania since the Russian invasion started on February 24. Aurescu also highlighted the important role his country plays in enhancing worldwide food security, as more than 8.4 million tonnes of grain and other agricultural products have passed through the country's ports on the Danube and the Black Sea on their way to vulnerable countries since the war started.
Croatian foreign minister Radman said he is expecting a positive decision from the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council regarding his country's accession to Schengen.
"Croatia expects a positive decision from the European Council to enter the Schengen area. In this sense, we support the adoption of the same decision for Romania and Bulgaria," Radman said.
On November 16, the European Commission (EC) called upon the JHA Council to take the necessary decisions without any further delay to allow Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to fully participate in the Schengen area. On December 8, the JHA Council, which is one of the configurations of the Council of the European Union, will vote on the full participation of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to the Schengen area without internal border controls.
Bulgaria and Romania successfully completed the Schengen evaluation process in 2011. A voluntary fact-finding mission, which took place in October 2022, confirmed that Bulgaria and Romania have not only continued implementing the new rules and tools, but that they have also substantially reinforced the overall application of the Schengen architecture in all its dimensions.
In October, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution inviting the Council to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen area.
In December 2021, the Council confirmed that Croatia had fulfilled the conditions required to join the Schengen area without internal border controls. On November 10, the EP gave a positive opinion on the draft Council decision on the full application of the Schengen acquis in Croatia.
The Schengen area is the largest free-travel area in the world, with currently 22 EU countries participating, as well as 4 associated non-EU countries.