Schengen Area

President Iohannis said on Saturday, at the reception given on Europe Day at the Cotroceni Palace, that Romania will soon be making strides to become a Schengen member.

Photo credit: (c) Razvan CHIRITA / AGERPRES PHOTO

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Tuesday said that Romania has the support of the European Commission and the European Parliament concerning the accession to the Schengen area, however it still has to persuade "one or two member states" which "still have reserves" in this regard.

Photo credit: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva called for dissociating Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Area and the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) of the European Commission.

According to Kuneva, the accession of Bulgaria should not be made dependent on the CVM, which monitors the progress of Bulgaria in the areas of judicial reform and the fight against corruption.

AGERPRES special correspondent Florentina Peia reports: Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Monday met his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, the official residence of the Italian president, with Matarella saying the time has come for Romania to be a member of the Schengen Area.

Photo credit: (c) Radu TUTA / AGERPRES PHOTO

The accession to the Schengen area and the observance of the rights of Romanians living in Italy are topics on the discussion agenda of President Klaus Iohannis during the official visit he is paying to Italy on Monday and Tuesday.

Photo credit: (c) Alex MICSIK / AGERPRES PHOTO

Prime Minister Victor Ponta stated on Thursday in Craiova, at the beginning of the joint Bulgarian-Romanian government session, that the two countries have better odds at success if they stand together, reaffirming that the possibility of entering the Schengen Area will become a reality if the two states work together.

Photo credit: (c) ANGELO BREZOIANU / AGERPRES STREAM

Romania and Bulgaria's accession to the border-free Schengen Area, regional and bilateral police cooperation as well as cooperation inside European organisations, joint operative missions in the areas of border security, migrations and asylum, corruption, were the main topics of discussion at a meeting on Friday in Craiova, of Romania's Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea and his Bulgarian counterp

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn on Wednesday said all the European Union member states that are 100 per cent fulfilling the technical criteria for joining the border-free Schengen Area should be allowed to do so, provided there is also political will.

Photo credit: (c) Radu TUTA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Joining the eurozone could be Romania's next major country project, the aim after this move being for the Romanians' living standards to get in line with those of the eurozone citizens, head of the European Commission's Representation to Romania Angela Filote told a press conference.

Photo credit: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Wednesday announced plans to launch new legislation to make the confiscation of assets obtained through corruption easier - part of Romania's ongoing efforts to tackle high-level graft.