Romania will be able to fully join Schengen from January 1, 2025, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said today, who is on a working visit to Budapest, where he held a one-on-one conversation with his Hungarian colleague Viktor Orbán, Agerpress reported.
"Romania and Hungary are working together both on the topics that concern bilateral relations and on issues of European interest (...) I would like to especially thank Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his constant support regarding full accession of Romania to the Schengen area. I congratulate the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU for the work during this period, but above all for the fact that it constantly kept the subject of Schengen in focus, Çolaku pointed out.
He noted that Romanians have already felt the benefits of partial entry into the Schengen area, which are "very tangible", and the country's accession with the land borders, in his words, will contribute to the dynamics of economic growth in Romania as well , as well as Hungary.
"I had a phone conversation a few days ago with the Chancellor of Austria, Mr. (Karl) Neuhammer, in which I conveyed to him that Romania takes full responsibility for the protection of the EU's external backpacks. We also reached an agreement at the level of interior ministers today with the participation of the four countries currently present in Budapest, and I would like to thank all the teams involved in the negotiations. Considering all these specific things, after 13 years, Romania will be able to fully join Schengen from January 1, 2025," the Prime Minister also pointed out.
The interior ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria met today in Budapest for informal talks regarding the date on which Romania and Bulgaria could enter Schengen by land.
Earlier today, Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pinter announced that Romania and Bulgaria could fully join the European Schengen area with open borders from January 2025, Reuters reported.
The two countries entered the Schengen area with their air and sea borders from 31 March 2024