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Slovakia Supports Romania's Accession to Both Schengen Area and OECD
Slovakia fully supports Romania's accession to the Schengen area and the OECD, Slovak Foreign Affairs Minister Juraj Blanar said at a press conference in Bucharest on Friday after talks with his Romanian counterpart Luminita Odobescu, https://www.tasr.sk/ reports.
"Romania and Bulgaria are full-fledged members of the EU and we see no reason why Romania, if it's met all the conditions that Slovakia also had to meet, shouldn't be a member of the Schengen area," Blanar said, praising the fact that border checks for sea and air transport between the countries in the Schengen area and Romania and Bulgaria will cease from March 31. Blanar noted that he believes that the process of full-fledged accession of both Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen will be completed this year. At the same time, he said that he also expressed his support for Romania at a meeting with the foreign minister of Austria, which until recently had blocked the accession of the two countries into the Schengen area because of concerns about illegal migration. Slovakia also supports Romania's full-fledged membership in the OECD and believes that it will happen in 2025, Blanar added. With an annual turnover exceeding €4 billion euros, Romania is one of Slovakia's most important trade partners in South-Eastern Europe, Blanar remarked, highlighting upcoming cooperation in the energy sector and defence industry. According to Blanar, Slovakia and Romania share the same opinion on the issue of the war in Ukraine. "We are in favour of a democratic, peaceful Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. This is a position that won't change," he stressed. Slovakia, he said, as a country of 5.5 million people, must rely primarily on respect for international law in security issues.