Schengen: Romania blasts Austria for 'inexplicable' move to block access to EU's passport-free zone
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has blasted Austria for single-handedly blocking his country's accession into the EU's passport-free Schengen Area, calling the move "inexplicable," "regrettable" and "unjustified".
"A single member state chose to ignore these realities and block European unanimity, in an inexplicable way that is difficult to understand for the entire European Union," Iohannis said in a reaction statement, a translated copy of which was shared with Euronews.
"The regrettable and unjustified attitude of Austria in (Thursday's) meeting risks affecting European unity and cohesion, which we need so much, especially in the current geopolitical context," he added, referring to Russia's war in Ukraine.
In a high-stakes meeting of interior ministers in Brussels, Austria was the only country that opposed Romania's -- and Bulgaria's -- admission into Schengen, the passport-free area that has abolished border checks between the vast majority of EU member states.
The Netherlands endorsed Romania's bid but was against Bulgaria's over rule-of-law concerns.
Admitting new Schengen members requires a unanimous vote.
On the other hand, both Austria and the Netherlands approved Croatia's candidacy, a country that entered the European Union six years after Romania. Croatia will join Schengen as of January 2023.
Thursday's negative outcome was a heavy political blow for Bucharest, which had gathered strong support from the European Commission, the European Parliament and most EU countries, including the bloc's two heavyweights, France and Germany.
The Commission has repeatedly insisted Romania is ready to be part of Schengen after having fulfilled all technical and legal conditions, including border management and police
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