Protest against the Austrian Schengen veto on Sunday in Vienna

Romanians living in Austria want to demonstrate on Sunday at 1 pm in front of the Federal Chancellery in downtown Vienna. The reason is the Austrian veto against the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen. The protest was organized by Unirea and the Federation of Romanian Clubs in Europe (FADER).

The organizers described the demonstration in front of the Austrian government as “a sign of protest against Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s vote against Romania’s accession to the Schengen area.” Gudja said he was expecting about 100 participants, and the demonstration was recorded. Romanians abroad wanted to peacefully express their protest. Austria is the only country in the European Union that opposes Romania’s membership in Schengen. The veto was also supported by the Netherlands, which had concerns primarily about Bulgaria. According to Gudja, an estimated 150,000 Romanians live in Austria.

Nehammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (both from the OVP) justified the veto with increasing illegal immigration, also via the Balkan route. From the point of view of the EU Commission and the European Parliament, Romania and Bulgaria have fulfilled all the conditions for joining the Schengen. The two countries also took up Austria’s veto at an EU summit on Thursday in Brussels.

After the summit, Nehammer referred to a special EU summit scheduled for February 9. He said that Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen is not realistic until then. The background is also that the Netherlands has asked the EU Commission to submit a report on the rule of law in Bulgaria, which is not expected until June. Therefore, neither country can be expected to participate in the border-free Schengen area before the summer.