Speeches

Madam President, esteemed representatives of the Council, of the Commission, dear colleagues, I speak to you as a Romanian MEP, but also as a former Minister of the Interior of Romania, Minister directly responsible for fulfilling the conditions for Romania's integration, both in the European Union and in the Schengen area. For this reason, Romania's integration into the Schengen area is a subject that concerns me and which I deal with very personally, and there are three arguments that must lead to a rapid decision on Romania's and Bulgaria's integration into Schengen. Firstly, the first argument is technical and should be sufficient, as it was for all Member States in the Schengen area. Romania meets all the technical conditions for Schengen, moreover, the war in Ukraine was also a test for the external border of the European Union, and Romania passed it successfully. The second argument is the moral one. Europe has been teaching us and teaching us the lesson of solidarity for years. Solidarity in the face of war for refugees and migrants, solidarity in the face of the energy crisis. Romania did its homework without comment. He showed unreserved solidarity, not because someone forced us to. I did it because Romanian citizens believe in these values. The question is: Is Europe able to carry out the lesson it teaches to the end? The third argument is rather practical and concerns the future of the European Union. The future of the European Union is threatened by Euroscepticism and we see this more and more often in national votes. The future of the European Union also depends on how the Union intends to treat the citizens of each Member State. Does not the refusal to take a legitimate decision to integrate Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen create the premises for a wave of Euroscepticism in these two countries? Are you ready for this? Is the Brexit lesson not enough? I believe that Romania and Bulgaria must quickly become members of the European Union.