German support is necessary for Romania to become a full member of Schengen, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. His comments came after a meeting he had with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Bucharest. Romania Insider reports that the two discussed enhancing their bilateral ties as well as cooperating in the areas of security and the economy. Ciolacu and Scholz emphasised that Germany is Romania's most significant trade partner while also discussing the country's potential land border admission. Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu considered that an important objective of the Government is to stimulate investments, using all the opportunities that his country has, accounting also for those through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Thanking the German chancellor for backing Romania’s full accession to the Schengen Zone, the Romanian PM said that Bucharest relies on Germany’s support in order to abolish border controls at land borders as soon as possible. Ciolacu thanked the German leader for backing Romania and personally supporting its entry into Schengen. He emphasised Romania’s need for Germany’s help to remove border checks at land borders quickly.

Proving Readiness for Schengen

Since March 31, Romania has been part of the Schengen Area by air and sea, with land border accession yet expected to be finalised. The Council of the European Union previously said that a concrete date for land border accession would only be decided after March 31, 2024. Ahead of partial accession, Romanian airports declared full readiness to embrace “Air Schengen”. Besides, authorities in Romania have announced that a new terminal will be built at the Henri Coandă International Airport in Otopeni. Airport management has also confirmed such information. In recent days, new terminals have also been built at the airports in Iași and Timișoara. However, in spite of partial Schengen accession, the Romanian Member of the European Parliament, Vlad Gheorghe, said that Romanians continue to be controlled upon arrival at Schengen zone countries’ airports.