Austria gave the final answer regarding Romania’s Schengen accession. We are left with a last resort

Austria has given the final answer regarding the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria, and this is a categorical no.

The foreign minister is the one who made the announcement. We have one last solution left, namely to take Austria to court.

Austria has a general problem with Schengen, Foreign Minister Schallenberg said during a visit to his Bulgarian counterpart in Vienna.

The tone between Vienna and Sofia has been rather harsh lately, with diplomatic relations strained due to Austria’s veto of Bulgaria’s (and Romania’s) accession to Schengen. During Friday’s visit to Vienna by Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel, there was no sign of that changing.

Alexander Schallenberg never tired of pointing out that the blockade was not directed at Bulgaria or Romania, but rather that the government had a “fundamental problem” with Schengen: Austria “regularly” had the highest number of asylum seekers in the EU relative to the population.

Read also: The dream of Austria, which does not want Romania in Schengen, is becoming a reality. Controls at 50% EU borders

Illegal migration must be limited and the protection of external borders must be strengthened. In total, 40 percent of Schengen countries have reintroduced border controls: “This shows that something is wrong,” said the foreign minister, quoted by Die Presse.

Austria will therefore maintain its veto for the time being, the Austrian foreign minister said.

Romania still has the solution of taking Austria to court, as Prime Minister Ciolacu promised. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced in September that Romania will sue Austria at the Court of Justice of the European Union due to its opposition to Romania’s accession to the Schengen area.

Read also: Romania forces accession to Schengen. The letter with which Negrescu wants to convince Nehammer

In an interview given to the Austrian publication Der Standard, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu stated that the damage to Romania “amounts to at least two percent of GDP”.

The Head of Government emphasized that the action against Austria will be initiated if it blocks Romania’s Schengen integration again at the official meetings in October and December.

Read also: Romania will attack Austria at the Court of Justice for the Schengen blockade. Ciolacu: “Definitely, yes!”