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Iohannis, Juncker discuss lifting special justice monitoring of Romania, accession to Schengen Area
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday welcomed President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker to discuss special monitoring of Romania's progress with judiciary reform and the fight against corruption under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), Romania's accession to the border-free Schengen Area, debates on the future of the EU as well as the management of negotiations over the UK exiting the European Union.
The Presidential Administration says in in a press statement that also discussed were Romania's priorities as the holder of the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2019.
Iohannis went on to reiterate Romania's firm commitment to get involved in the consolidation of the European design, mentioning that the country's holding the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2019 will be a big opportunity for Romania to play an important part in the configuration of Europe's future.
The Presidential Administration says Juncker remarked that 10 years since acceding to the European Union, Romania has made significant progress, with the benefits of accession being visible in all areas, including the dally lives of Romanians.
"The President of the European Commission reiterated a commitment to lift Romania's monitoring under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism during the term in office of the current commission. The European official also underscored that the final decision will be made based on Romania meeting the 12 benchmarks included in the latest CVM progress report and that there will be no more additional benchmarks," the statement says.
Juncker is said to have stated himself strongly in favour of Romania's accession to the Schengen Area, given that Romania is meeting all the requirements to do so.