The President of Austria: The veto against Romania in Schengen was a political and economic mistake

The president of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, said on Friday, in a press conference in Salzburg held alongside the Romanian counterpart Nicușor Dan, that the decision of Austria to block Romania's accession to the Schengen area was, in his opinion, a political and economic mistake. He stressed that this veto affected the confidence between the two countries.

“It is no secret that when Austria submitted that veto against Romania, I said it is a political and economic mistake and that it is something that destroys the confidence between the two countries, instead of building it, but this has passed and I am very happy that this issue has been solved,” said the president of Austria, quoted by News.ro.

The Austrian president said that such decisions can have negative effects including on the state.

This is an example for the way in which such political decisions or political measures can have negative effects on the one who made this decision, for example, by this lack of confidence or by affecting confidence with Romania and economic, and then, indeed, it was. But I am glad now that I have overcome this situation and that I solved the problem ”, he continued.

President Nicuşor Dan said, in his turn, that the various actors in Austria positioned themselves different from this issue.

“For example, the economic environment has positioned very, very firm for Romania's entry into the Schengen area, so there are many contact bridges that have not been affected by this discussion and all the time in politics you have to look in the future, because you will have enough problems to solve,” said Nicuşor Dan.