Minister Aurescu discusses with his German counterpart about Romania's accession to Schengen area

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, had a meeting on Friday with his counterpart from the Federal Republic of Germany, Annalena Baerbock, on the sidelines of the Gymnich meeting in Stockholm, the discussions aimed both at the opportunities to strengthen bilateral relations with strategic, as well as current topics on the European agenda, including Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.

According to a press release sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), the two officials discussed the subject of Romania's accession to the Schengen area, with Minister Aurescu presenting in detail the state of the Romanian side's efforts.

"The German foreign minister firmly reconfirmed Germany's strong support for Romania's accession as soon as possible, stating, among other things, that the internal discussions in his country regarding the management of internal Schengen borders with other member states do not affect the mentioned position in any way of Berlin", the press release states.

Also, the situation of the EU's solidarity corridors, respectively the negotiations regarding the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was discussed, both ministers expressing the hope that the latter will be achieved.

Equally, in the context of the recent establishment - following the political agreement reached at the Foreign Affairs Council on April 24 - of the EU sanctions regime to counter the destabilizing actions against the Republic of Moldova and its constitutional order, an initiative launched by Minister Bogdan Aurescu at the Foreign Affairs Council on 20 February, the head of Romanian diplomacy requested Germany's support for the rapid implementation of the measures regarding the listing of the first batch of persons under this regime. The German foreign minister has confirmed her country's full support for this approach, the MAE mentions.