Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the Schengen area ‘should be kept’ and Romania’s place is there, after meeting the European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Brussels on Thursday. In his turn, Martin Schulz said he had the ‘privilege’ to discuss with a head of state in German.
“We have obviously tackled the issue of security and the EU external border securing and, in this context, we talked also about Schengen. I was glad to find out that Mr. President opined that Schengen should be kept and that Romania’s place is within the Schengen area,” President Iohannis said.
The two officials also discussed about the freedom of movement of the labour force.
“We have the same point of view, this matter shouldn’t be questioned. It is a gained value that should be kept,” Iohannis further said.
Regarding migration, Presidents Iohannis and Schulz discussed about solving the crisis ‘at the source’, the conflict areas in Syria.
“We agreed that the issue should be resolved in full, not in parts. We have to go to the source in this approach, we must address the problem where it occurs and we must work with the countries where the refugees come from,” added Iohannis. Furthermore, support should be provided to transit countries such as Turkey and countries hosting refugees at this time, he said.
“I had the exquisite privilege to discuss finally with the president of a state, a full hour, in German,” said EP President Martin Schulz during a joint press conference with President Iohannis, adding that the visit of the President of Romania in the European Parliament is “a happy day”.
Martin Schulz said that he discussed with the Romanian President mainly about the topic of refugees, where there was “an almost obvious consensus”.
According to Schulz, the migration crisis must be resolved primarily by achieving peace and stability in Syria.
Moreover, the two officials discussed about the means that the EU can provide to the countries hosting immigrants in close proximity to the areas of conflict, such as Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.