site.btaRomanian MEP: Interior Minister Bode Has Opportunity to Discuss Schengen Accession at Informal JHA Council in Stockholm

The AGERPRES news agency quoted Romanian MEP Eugen Tomac as saying that Romania's Minister of Internal Affairs Lucian Bode will have an opportunity to raise the issue of Schengen accession at the informal Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting in Stockholm on January 25.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Tomac, who is chair of the People's Movement Party, member of the European People's Party, said that Interior Minister Bode had been invited to Stockholm to the informal meeting of the JHA Council on January 25-27.  

Tomac also said: "The visit is important, as we do not yet have confirmation that the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs will attend the event in Sweden, but we are talking about the opportunity he has to discuss, even in an informal format, the issue of our access to the Schengen area.

"It remains to be seen whether this time the current government's dialogue, perseverance and negotiating skills will be more successful than before. So all eyes are on Stockholm."

In a recent interview with Radio France Internationale, Tomac said his country has no chance of entering Schengen in 2023. The government in Bucharest should consider referring the matter to the EU Court of Justice, he said.

At a December 8, 2022 meeting of the JHA Council, Austria blocked Bulgaria's and Romania's Schengen entry. The Netherlands also blocked Bulgaria's bid.