President Iohannis: Romania will not appeal the Schengen decision to the European Court of Justice / There will be no boycott of Austria by Romania / Schengen accession possible in 2023

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President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday in Brussels that the Romanian state will not boycott Austria, advocating a diplomatic solution to the Schengen dispute with Austria. Iohannis also said that Romania will not challenge the Austrian veto in EU courts.

The head of state said he would raise the Schengen issue at the European Council on 15 December, but warned that it was hard to believe he could get Austria to change its attitude.

Asked if he wanted Bulgaria to be decoupled, President Iohannis dismissed the idea, adding that the option proposed by Minister Lucian Bode at the JHA Council on 8 December was not to decouple the two countries, but to postpone the Schengen entry deadlines.

Iohannis also said he hoped that Romania would join Schengen in 2023 and rejected any blame on Romanian officials, pointing out that the fault lay with Austria, which had suddenly changed its position for internal reasons.

President Iohannis’ main statements:

• We have a packed agenda, including on energy. Energy ministers did not reach an agreement last night, but we will continue discussions
• There are issues that I will raise – the Schengen issue. Last week, the interior ministers in the JHA Council failed to approve Romania’s entry into Schengen. The question is how we continue. We Romanians want to be part of Schengen, it is the main objective for me as President.
• We have two problems. The attitude of Austria, which is reserved, recently the Chancellor said that this vote means a postponement, not a definitive No. It’s a nuanced position. But we also have a second problem: the Dutch vote was mixed, a YES vote for Romania, half a NO vote for Bulgaria. It was not a definitive no; it is the desire for a postponement until certain problems in Bulgaria are resolved.
• This can be dealt with in one way only. With diplomacy. Everything else is excluded.
  I have heard countless opinions, advice. There will be no boycott of Austria by the Romanian state and public authorities.
  The political class has had a phenomenal political success, the CVM has been lifted, and thus the most important political obstacle to Schengen entry has been removed.
• The European Commission supported us with expertise and good faith. The Czech Presidency has been very supportive, they have been extremely mobilised
• We will have the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council, we have already discussed with the Swedish Prime Minister
• I will have many discussions to see how we can take the next steps, because it has to be a success. Nobody wants us to end up in a JHA Council with a negative vote
• I will have meetings with the President of the European Commission, with the Czech Prime Minister, with the Swedish Prime Minister and we will also start the discussion with the Austrians, we should not avoid such discussions.
• I have seen that there are many public advisers who create expectations about the European Council. I will raise the issue in the Council plenary, but practical solutions will be found in the next JHA Council.
• I don’t think anyone imagined that Austria and the Netherlands changed their position in a week, it’s not possible.
• A lot of work is needed. My team and ministers have done their job. I find it strange the blame-hunting that has started in some quarters. The culprits are not in Bucharest, you know where they are.

Q: Do you want it mentioned in the European Council conclusions?

A: I’m afraid that won’t be possible, the conclusions can only be adopted by unanimity. The positions are the same as at the JHA Council. We have to rebuild the whole approach, so it will take time. So please don’t have expectations, but an accession is possible in 2023.

Q: Could more be done?

A: No, it could not have been done more, because the change of attitude of Austria happened in a few days and it is not related to us, but to internal motivations.

Q: Is there any potential strategy for a decoupling from Bulgaria?

A: Purely theoretically, the Dutch vote issue has two solutions. Either the Netherlands changes its option or there will be a separate vote. Personally I think that joining Schengen together with Bulgaria is better, it is preferable. Imagine if Bulgaria, which is not a big European force, were left alone in the face of the migratory wave. We are looking for the option to join together with Bulgaria. The procedures in Brussels are very complex and allow for many approaches. What the Interior Minister prepared was not decoupling, but delaying. That is, the deadlines for the two countries to enter Schengen should be postponed.

Q: Are there still plans to delay accession between Romania and Bulgaria?

A: We will find out after discussions with those involved. The „no” vote has a big impact across the EU. You can see that people everywhere are starting to look for diplomatic solutions, but we will need time.

Q: Do you expect Austria to come up with new conditions for Romania?

A: There were no new conditions from Austria to Romania, but from the European Commission. But Austria’s argument was not built against Romania or Bulgaria. They used this stage to show that they have too many migrants.

Q: Is an appeal to the CJEU ruled out?

A: In the heat and excitement, all sorts of analysts come up with all sorts of solutions. Romania will not appeal to the CJEU on this issue.

Q: What will be the timetable?

A: I don’t want to predict a timetable. But these requests to the Commission are not new, they came before the JHA Council, we knew about them, the Commission came on 6 December with a new plan for the Balkan route. This plan can still be worked on, but the Commission is already working on these solutions. It may not be sensational, but Romania is not part of a problem, but part of a solution. We have every interest in solving the problems. But, beyond explanations, it must be clear to everyone: Schengen is one thing, migration is another.

Q: To what extent does this contribute to the rise of Euroscepticism?

A: There may be negative reactions, but my hope is that if we come up with a solution, people will see that this was a blip, not a rejection of Romania. We are not alone, we are wanted in the EU, in Schengen, but we have to get past this syncopation. There is no point in falling into a collective syncope.

Traducere (Ovidiu H.)