Ciuca: We will continue dialogue, measures to prove Romania deserves to be in Schengen

Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca on Wednesday said Romania will continue "more determinedly" to maintain the dialogue and take the necessary measures to prove that it meets all the standards and deserves to be a member country of the Schengen Area, Agerpres informs.

"Of course, we had an expectation that on December 8, in the JHA Council, we would receive the agreement for accession to the Schengen area. It did not happen, although Romania fulfilled all the requirements of the Schengen acquis by law. This is what I tell you, it did not disarm us. I can say that we will soon continue to maintain the dialogue and take the necessary measures, so that we continue to prove that we meet all these standards, that we meet the technical criteria and that Romania deserves to be a member country of the Schengen area," said Ciuca, at the beginning of the Government meeting.

He also referred to the fact that in 2022 Romania's CVM was raised.

"We were happy at the moment when the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was lifted for Romania. It is a proof of the recognition, of the confirmation of the fact that Romania has made the necessary reforms to consolidate the rule of law. It was a desire that we fulfilled and there was an expectation at the level of the entire society," added Nicolae Ciuca.

The prime minister also mentioned that this year Romania submitted the memorandum of accession to the OECD.

"Not long ago, we also submitted the initial memorandum for joining the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Basically, we entered the straight line in what the accession process means. It naturally involves an extensive set of reforms and standards which our country must fulfill in the modernisation process," added Ciuca.