Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner will pay an official visit to Bucharest on Wednesday, government sources told G4Media.ro. It is not clear at this stage what the agenda of the talks will be, but government sources told G4Media.ro that the government has invited his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, to visit Bucharest, in the hope that he will be able to change his position on Romania’s entry into Schengen.

Karner is said to have replied that he could come in the next two months, but the leaders of the governing coalition have agreed that the visit should only take place if Austria announces in advance that it supports Romania’s entry into Schengen this year. The Austrian government has so far made no such announcement.

Government sources told G4Media.ro at the beginning of March that steps are being taken with Sweden and Spain to support Romania and to resume the vote for Schengen enlargement as soon as possible. Sweden would still be reluctant, given the Austrian vote, while Spain is treating us with total openness. Spain is due to take over the EU presidency on 1 June.

A further stumbling block is the Dutch vote, which has not changed its position on Bulgaria and has no intention of doing so. Moreover, say the same sources, the chances of Romania breaking away from Bulgaria in the Schengen accession vote are greater than the Netherlands abandoning its anti-Bulgaria stance.