Minister Bode is announcing today to the millions of Romanians from the whole country, but also from Europe, regarding the prospects of Romania's accession to the Schengen area, a very old goal, which even the President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Senate says should be fulfilled.
Minister Bode says that after a meeting with him, including him, he is of the opinion that our country should become a member of the Schengen area, the support for our accession existing on the part of several states, but not all of the European Union, the opposition of a few calls preventing joining.
"Romania and France have a strategic partnership and a privileged relationship of bilateral cooperation in the field of internal affairs. During today's day we received the visit of a delegation of French parliamentarians led by Mr. Christian Cambon, President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces of the Senate of the French Republic.
Our discussions mainly concerned the humanitarian situation caused by the armed conflict in Ukraine, as well as the subject of Romania's accession to the Schengen area. I presented to the French partners the measures taken by the Romanian authorities to manage the large influx of people arriving in Romania from Ukraine, with special attention being paid to supporting vulnerable categories of people.
At the same time, I highlighted the very good cooperation we have had so far with civil society representatives. During our meeting, President Cambon appreciated the extraordinary efforts made by the Romanian authorities to manage this crisis, the very good organization and the humane manner in which the situation of Ukrainian citizens forced to leave their country is approached.
In this context, his lordship conveyed assurances to the French side for strengthening relations between Romania and France on all levels, including from a security and humanitarian perspective. The discussion about Ukraine and Romania's efforts to respond in solidarity to the needs of our neighbors invariably overlapped with the discussion about the Schengen area.
Romania has demonstrated that it can manage this crisis by providing an exemplary response to this exceptional situation. In the context of the very positive assessments we received regarding the way in which Romania managed this crisis, President Cambon emphasized the fact that Romania must become a member state of the Schengen area. I was glad to hear this and thanked President Cambon for his support. Indeed, we continue to count on the support of France with a view to accession to the Schengen area, especially by virtue of the strategic partnership relations between our countries."
