Bucharest, 28 January 2023 (TDI): The Foreign Ministers of France, the Netherlands, and Romania met in a trilateral meeting. The French Foreign Minister; Catherine Colonna, her Dutch counterpart; Wopke Hoekstra, and Romanian Foreign Minister; Bogdan Aurescu, vowed to support Romania’s accession process to the Schengen area.
The agenda was to emphasize Romania’s accession to the Schengen area. The Foreign Ministers of France and the Netherlands affirmed their support for Romania. It would be of mutual benefit that Romania would gain accession to the Schengen area.
Security Cooperation
The trilateral meeting also discussed prospects for mutual security cooperation. That is essential for safety and security.
That also includes the support of the three countries in resolving the issue of Ukraine. In accordance with the policy frameworks of the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
NATO Summit
In this meeting, foreign ministers also discussed the preparation for the upcoming NATO summit this year, in Vilnius. Furthermore, the Foreign Ministers discussed the impacts of the Russian-Ukraine standoff on neighborhood European countries, especially Moldova.
Future Commitments
The Foreign Ministers also discussed prospects for commitments in the future. The Romanian Foreign Minister stated that his country was committed to expanding diplomatic relations for mutual defense.
Also, it is committed to strengthen capabilities in order to fight current and future threats that are challenging mutual security and stability.
Schengen Area
The Schengen Agreement was signed on 14 June 1985. It was signed between Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands which agreed to gradually remove controls at their internal borders.
Moreover, to introduce freedom of movement for all nationals of the signatory countries, other EU Member States, and some non-EU countries.
Now Romania is ready to be a part of this mechanism. Romania meets all the requirements to become a full member of the Schengen agreement.
However, EU national governments must unanimously approve Romania’s Schengen membership before the country can join the travel zone.
