Romania Schengen accession priority for Hungary, foreign minister says

A major objective of Hungary’s EU presidency in the second half of 2024 will be to move ahead Romania’s integration with the community’s borderless Schengen zone, unless progress is made on the matter before, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Bucharest on Wednesday, after talks with the leader of the ethnic Hungarian RMDSZ party.

The ministry said in a statement that after meeting Hunor Kelemen, Szijjártó highlighted the strategic importance of the two countries’ bilateral cooperation which he said rested on ethnic Hungarians living in Translyvania and Szekler Land.

The Hungarian government sees that community as a resource as well as a link in bilateral ties, Szijjártó said, pointing out the importance of listening to RMDSZ on issues concerning cooperation with Romania.

Romania’s earliest possible Schengen integration is in Hungary’s national interest, partly because the neighbouring country is Hungary’s second largest exports market, and bilateral economic and trade ties could be strengthened with its membership, the foreign minister said.