site.btaRomanian Interior Minister: Discussions to Be Held with Bulgaria on Air Schengen Accession

Technical negotiations are underway for Romania's accession into the so-called "Air Schengen" after the Austrian Interior Ministry confirmed that Vienna agrees to the abolition of border controls at airports in exchange for certain conditions, Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu told Digi24 on Monday. He underlined the importance of the fact that Austria no longer has a firm position on the issue.

His statement comes after Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said he was ready to accept the accession of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area when it comes to travel by plane, provided the two countries accept migrants from Syria and Afghanistan and strengthen border controls between Bulgaria and Romania and between Hungary and Romania . 

"The announcement was not surprising for us, we expected it. Its main political significance is that Austria changed its position. From now on we are entering the field of technical discussions. They will take place at the Salzburg forum, at the Justice and Home Affairs Council and bilaterally. It is being discussed at several levels - bilaterally with Austria, trilaterally with Bulgaria, quadrilaterally with the European Commission and multilaterally with all EU countries," said Predoiu.

He hoped that a decision would be taken and a compromise reached this year.

"There are more steps to be taken. The first one is the vote in the Dutch parliament, the mandate the government there will receive in relation to the reforms in Bulgarian judicial system. These discussions will be held in parallel, including with Bulgarian colleagues", the Romanian Interior Minister added.