Blocking Bulgaria and Romania for Schengen will lead to the growth of extremism in the European Union. The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, warned about this in Strasbourg.
“The growth of extremism should not be ignored, but countered by showing that the European Union matters.”
During a discussion with foreign journalists, she expressed her fears that decisions like this one to block the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area risk leading to the multiplication of “those who want to destroy Europe”.
“The worst thing that can happen to us is a decision like the one from December (of the Council) not to allow the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, to be applied to countries that are struggling at war, fighting our war. To wait years and be told no. How can we, as Europe, justify such a message to millions of people who look to Europe as their only hope?” said the President of the EP.
She recalled that after Brexit there was a fear that more and more countries might want to leave the EU, but now such statements are no longer heard.
“Why? Because of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, because of the way we approached the pandemic, the fact that we came together in terms of energy procurement, gas storage, diversification (of energy sources), investment in renewable energies, supporting the recovery of the member countries”, added Roberta Metsola.
She called on the European Union to be prepared for “restart and reform”.
“It’s not just about discussing the common agricultural policy or removing unanimity in foreign policy or how many commissioners each country will have. It is about understanding the political necessity, about the realization that Europe is stronger and safer both politically and economically if it is bigger,” Metsola added.