Austria maintaining its veto to prevent Romania from joining the Schengen border-free zone is impacting Romanian leaders, who are now looking for alternative solutions “other than the diplomatic way” while Euroscepticism in the country continues to grow.
Austria is blocking Romania’s entry into the EU’s border-free zone over fears of an increase in irregular migration, sparking deep frustration among the country’s population and politicians.
After threatening to take Austria to the EU Court of Justice for failure to lift its Schengen veto, Romania took another step and is blocking the attendance of Austrian officials to NATO meetings ‘to send a signal’, vice-president of the party in coalition government PNL (EPP) Rareș Bogdan told Digi24.
If Austria’s position cannot be changed by the “signals” sent by Romania, the EU institutions and the rest of the EU countries, Romania is ready to “find solutions other than the diplomatic way”, said Bogdan, who also threatened to use “economic diplomacy” in retaliation.
‘When you have a country that has no less than 7% of its GDP from businesses present in Romania, they must not be blocked, they must be partnered’, he said.
The Eurosceptic far-right party AUR, the second biggest party in terms of voting intention at 21%, also called on the government to ‘retaliate firmly’ on Tuesday.
Measures could include the boycott of Austrian companies, transferring public bank accounts from Austrian banks to Romania, curtailing loans from Austrian banks and shifting fuel purchases to other countries, AUR MP Lilian Scripnic proposed.
The Romanian socialists (PSD/S&D) in coalition government with PNL, did not reply by the time of publication.
Fueling frustration
This situation “has created a collective emotion and turned a nation of Euro-optimists into a nation of Euro-sceptics”, PNL’s Bogdan said.
Trust in EU institutions has indeed fallen in Romania, with only 35% of respondents saying they trust them, according to a survey by the Romanian company CURS. In the EU’s 2023 Spring Eurobarometer, the proportion of respondents who said they trusted EU institutions was 47%.
In the last three years, the eurosceptic AUR has surged to become the second party in terms of voting intentions with 21%. Ahead of the EU elections, the party is expected to enter the European Parliament for the first time with eight seats.
“The Schengen situation is deeply distressing for Romanians, who hold the EU responsible for not taking sufficient action to address this issue. With quite a strong adherence to traditional and religious values, Romanians are vulnerable to manipulation by extremist groups like AUR, who exploit these beliefs to oppose democratic reforms and European values,” Greens MEP Nicolae Stefanuta told Euractiv.
This rise has been fuelled in part by anti-EU sentiment stemming from Romania’s failure in joining Schengen.
“We are second-class Europeans”, AUR president George Simion told Euractiv, adding that it is not fair that Austria can access and benefit from Romania’s resources but opposes the country’s succession into Schengen.
“I draw attention to the need for Romania’s entry into Schengen in 2023 precisely to stop the rise of extremist parties, and this is achievable because Romania has been and will be a provider of security and stability for the EU,” PNL MEP Daniel Buda told Euractiv.
(Max Griera | Euractiv.com)
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