Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

tance to the evolving relationship between Romania and
the EU.
- A new convergence report from the European Commission
outlined the goals and timelines of when Romania
can adopt the euro. The report specified that Romania
hopes to adopt the euro for 2015 as it already meets two
of the five convergence criteria of the exchange rate and
public debt. 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75
2011 IN REVIEW:
Though deteriorating throughout the course of
2011, Romania’s relationship with the EU generally finished
on a hesitantly hopeful note. The most widely debated
topic throughout the year was Romania’s accession
to the Schengen Group. Initially, France and Germany, with
the approval of other EU Member States, demanded the
postponement of Romania’s accession to the Schengen
Zone due to its current corruption and problems with the
Roma population. 76 77 Though this development was not a
surprise to Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor
Baconschi, he still made the accusation that the reason for
such a decision lies in the inherent double standard within
the EU. 78 79 80 He therefore applied pressure on the EU, and
argued that “regulations should not be changed to block
accession”. 81 82 In response to Baconschi’s actions, as well
as surmounting Euroscepticism, EU Member States adjusted
their stance on Romania’s Schengen accession and
agreed to another hearing later in 2011. 83 No agreement
was reached upon the second Schengen accession hearing,
despite Romania’s completion of the criteria required to
accede. 84 There is a lack of reporting of the discussion on
the specific reason why Romania was not admitted, aside
from the vague response from Finland and the Netherlands
stating that the issue was political and electoral. 85 Generally
frustrated, Romanian EU officials consistently presented
Romania as a victim of EU bullying and that their opinions
were clearly in the right as would be seen in the predicted
successful accession in the spring of 2012. 86
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