Bilateral negotiations between Romania and Türkiye regarding a new agreement based on Schengen rules will soon begin.
The announcement comes after on Tuesday, the government of Romania approved the beginning of talks with Türkiye for the conclusion of a new agreement based on the Schengen acquis in terms of visas, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
Through a press release, the government said that the agreement between Romania’s government and Türkiye on citizen travel, signed initially in Bucharest on February 17, 2004, and amended by two Protocols in Bucharest on October 25, 2007, was partly terminated in Ankara on September 19, 2013.
Through a press release, the government of Romania said that the articles that provided visa exemptions for the citizens of the two states were denounced.
They referred, for example, to holders of diplomatic, service or special passports, to employees of companies from the two states, who work in air, maritime transport, rail or road transport, of goods or people. Also, businessmen or representatives of commercial companies.
According to authorities in Romania, the reason is the alignment of the bilateral agreement with the Schengen acquis, which Romania applies in its entirety from March 31, 2024.
Bilateral negotiations will begin for the conclusion of a new agreement, based on the Schengen acquis in terms of visas. The partial denunciation does not affect the execution of the rest of the provisions of the agreement.
Partial Schengen Accession
Romania entered the Schengen Zone partially on March 31 this year, through air and sea, while the land border accession is yet to be finalised.
It means that sea and air controls are already abolished but rules for land borders continue to remain unchanged.
Citizens of Romania do not need a visa when travelling to Türkiye. Holders of Romanian passports are eligible to stay in Türkiye for a short-term stay (for 90 days).
Based on the Passport Index of the VisaGuide.World, Romania’s passport offers visa-free access to a total of 110 countries and passport-free access to 30 countries. The same source shows that Romania’s passport is ranked in the 37th position in this index and has a passport score of 86.30.
However, the lack of a concrete date for Schengen accession in terms of land borders for Romania is bringing additional difficulties for this country.
Recently, the European Parliament called for the abolishment of land border controls for Romania and Bulgaria in order to avoid long queues of trucks at both countries’ land borders.
