Iohannis: I am moderately optimistic we will get justice legislation that withstands careful scrutiny

President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday he is "moderately optimistic" that Romania's justice legislation will withstand careful scrutiny by the European Commission.

"The Schengen area was created under an understanding that provides the steps to be taken and the conditions to be fulfilled. The European Commission supports Romania's accession process, as most of the European states are for the acceptance of Romania and usually associated with Bulgaria. These matters have often been long debated and the developments that we are currently witnessing in the justice legislation certainly raise some additional questions. I am, however, moderately optimistic that we will be able to have justice legislation in place that withstands a careful scrutiny in the end, and I think that little by little everyone has understood that justice legislation needs to be improved and not minced. I hope this will be finally understood by those who have started with unjustifiable zest and complete lack of transparency this process and I think there is sufficient wisdom in the Romanian politics to find a suitable end to these things, but at the moment we are raising more questions than providing certainties," Iohannis told a joint news conference in Bucharest with visiting Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte.

In his turn, Rutte reiterated that the Netherlands should link Romania's desire to join the Schengen area to its meeting the conditions of the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism.

He said he fully understands Romania's desire to join the Schengen Area, and that the Netherlands has always linked this desire to the fulfillment of all the requirements of the CVM, as they have to be guided by these criteria. It is a matter to be considered by the European Commission as well, he said, and immediately as it is done, the Netherlands will consider the next steps to take. AGERPRES (RO - author: Florentina Peia, editor: Florin Marin; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)