When the Show is over? Romania’s Options regarding the Schengen Space

coperta (1)CRPE Policy Brief no.38, September 2015, Authors: Ciprian Ciucu, Roxana Albisteanu. The pretexts for which Romania was denied joining the Schengen Area have been diverse but at the moment the real reason – the migratory pressure on Greece – has surfaced.

The pressure of migration that led to the penetration of the external borders of Greece, Italy and Hungary in 2015 makes the standards which are required of Romania and Hungary to be unnecessary as long as they have not also been applied to the Member States whose border was penetrated with great ease and with the tacit acquiescence of some of the Member States.

The crisis caused by the wave of immigrants who crossed the Western Balkans in the last three months, having their destination the rich countries of the European Union, will directly affect the decision of the Member States, as well as the decision of Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen.

In the report we are presenting today, the day before the Supreme Council of National Defense for which President Johannis has announced Schengen and Migration as agenda topics, we explore the options that Romania has concerning the Schengen goal as well as the ways in which it can follow or postpone this objective.

The report in Romanian can be accessed here.

This Policy Memo is published in the framework of the project “Influent, alert and informed in EU negotiations – Expertise and consultation on European policies” financed by the EEA Grants 2009 – 2014, the NGO Fund in Romania.

The contents of this report do not necessarily represent the official position of the EEA Grants 2009-2014. The entire responsibility for the accuracy and coherence of the information is held by the project promoter, Romanian Center for European Policies and by the author of the report.

For official information about the EEA and Norway Grants visit www.eeagrants.org.