Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Chuca defined the vote in the Council for Justice and Internal Affairs against the expansion of the Schengen area with Romania and Bulgaria as a "test that Europe failed, not Romania".

The statement was made last night during a session of the Romanian Parliament, at which the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Mezzola, delivered a speech, reports Agerpress.

Metzola was on his first official visit to Romania yesterday.

Nicolae Cuca said the vote in the Justice and Home Affairs Council on December 8 had caused "outrage, disappointment and dissatisfaction" throughout Romanian society and was "a test that not Romania but Europe failed".

The Prime Minister noted that Romania will remain engaged and have a constructive attitude towards achieving the goal of accession as soon as possible.

Romania after the Schengen postponement: Austria is safe thanks to Romania too, Mr. Chancellor!

"If we allow national interests to prevail, if we follow only electoral calculations, political majorities, national sympathies and antipathies, we can doom ourselves to failure.

Europe is not just a political declaration of shared values, but is built step by step through attitude and approach," said the Romanian Prime Minister.

He stated that Romania remains committed to the goal of joining Schengen and expressed confidence that, as before, the country will have the firm support of the European Parliament.

Schengen

Nikolae Chuka