"Hungarians have long been interested in Romania becoming a member of the Schengen area and both countries benefiting from its advantages together."
This is what Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said during his visit to Bucharest, reports Agence France-Presse.
Orbán held talks with his Romanian counterpart Marcel Ciolacu at the Victoria Palace, after which they made a joint statement to journalists.
The Hungarian prime minister recalled that during his visit to Bucharest in July, he and Ciolacu had set a goal for Romania to become a full member of the Schengen area during the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council.
"It was a difficult task, we debated a lot whether it was realistic at all to make it happen this year as it hasn't happened for 13 years. We made a work plan, we identified which countries are opposed to enlargement, we discussed what methods and cooperation we can use to convince them that this is a historic opportunity, we implemented this jointly developed action plan and we have come to the point where what few would have thought could happen during the Hungarian presidency is happening", he said.
Orban added that this also proves that the two countries share a common historical destiny.
"We Hungarians have long been interested in Romania becoming a member of the Schengen area and benefiting from its advantages together with us. Now this has happened," the Hungarian Prime Minister said.
He also talked about how, after the abolition of border controls between Hungary and neighbouring countries, not only the economy has improved, but also the quality of life of the people.
"Even from Bucharest or Budapest, we cannot assess exactly how important this change is for the Romanian and Hungarian people living in the border areas. Life there will be reorganised, much more organically and healthily than before, because the border prevented closer cooperation in everyday life," Orban added. | BGNES
