Romania’s Schengen accession will not be subject to a vote during the Justice and Home Affairs Council’s (JHA) meeting on 5 December, according to political sources cited by News.ro, Euractiv.com informs. During the upcoming JHA Council next week, the discussion on Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession is expected without a formal vote, given ongoing negotiations for a new government in the Netherlands. The provisional agenda of the JHA indicates that on 5 December, there will be discussions on the overall situation in the Schengen area, along with a potential debate on the Council Decision concerning the full application of Schengen provisions in Bulgaria and Romania. According to sources cited by News.ro, Romania is striving to convene an Extraordinary Council by the end of December to decide on Romania’s accession in two stages, commencing with air borders in March next year, followed by road and sea borders. The sources affirm that a separation from Bulgaria is not being considered. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has explored this scenario with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez. The Netherlands has opposed Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen, and Austria has opposed both Romania’s and Bulgaria’s inclusion in the free movement area. Despite Vienna’s consistent signalling of maintaining its position, on Tuesday, Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch expressed on the X platform that Romania’s Schengen accession would benefit Austria and Romania. “Both Austria and Romania would benefit greatly from Romania’s Schengen accession. It would have advantages for many companies and would also be a great relief for the 30,000 24-hour caregivers on whom thousands of families in Austria depend”, Rauch wrote in the context of a meeting in Brussels with Romanian Labour and Social Solidarity Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu. Last week, Bulgarian EPP MEP Andrey Kovatchev told journalists in Strasbourg that Bulgaria will not be admitted to Schengen before Austria’s 2024 parliamentary elections.
Romanian prime minister Ilie Bolojan stated during an interview on Wednesday, December 17, that there should be no statute of limitations in cases of serious corruption. The statement comes after a Recorder investigation, which showed that several heads of the major institutions in the Romanian justice system allegedly delayed trials for years until wrongdoings were […]
President Nicușor Dan has challenged, before the Constitutional Court (CCR), the constitutionality of the law that requires that at least 40% of the athletes who play on a team in official national competitions be Romanian. Dan noted that the law violates the principle of non-discrimination and the free movement of workers, enshrined both in the […]
Craiova International Airport will open its new passenger terminal on Thursday, December 18, completing a major infrastructure investment aimed at significantly expanding capacity and improving air connectivity in southwestern Romania. It is part of a broader expansion and modernization project financed through the Large Infrastructure Operational Programme (POIM) 2014–2020, with a total value exceeding EUR […]
Romania is set to be connected to the Western European energy network thanks to grid investments worth EUR 30 billion. The funds will be provided by the EU by 2035, and the project will link Romania to Hungary and Austria in a joint project. Romanian energy minister Bogdan Ivan signaled the signing of the new […]
Franck Bagouet has been appointed managing director of TotalEnergies Marketing Romania SA and managing director of Automotive Southeast Europe Hub TotalEnergies Marketing. He succeeds Didier Grimault, who has accepted a new position within the TotalEnergies company. “I am glad to join this dynamic affiliate and confident that, together with our talented team, we will reinforce […]
Databricks, the data analytics and artificial intelligence company co-founded by Romanian professors Ion Stoica and Matei Zaharia, announced on Tuesday, December 16, that it is raising USD 4 billion in funding at a valuation of USD 134 billion, according to CNBC. The new valuation represents a 34% increase compared to the August round, when Databricks […]
