Buying Accession to Schengen: Romania to Purchase Two Ships from Damen International

Since the discussions regarding Romania’s accession to the Schengen area became tense at the last meeting of the European Commission, many were left with question marks. Does Romania deserve to enter the Schengen area or not? Most answered yes, Holland no.

There is no longer any doubt regarding the position of the Netherlands to Romania. For 11 years, the Netherlands adopted the same hostile attitude towards Romania’s accession to Schengen. However, they remained indifferent to any positive change in Romania, becoming apparent opponents of the country’s accession.

Of course, things do not stop here, the Netherlands is Romania’s opponent on absolutely any topic in the European Commission, and this fact has been listed countless times by the Romanian MEPs. But why?

To smooth things out with Holland, the Romanian Fleet purchases two Dutch “Damen” ships for search, rescue, and firefighting operations. These vessels with cutting-edge technology will be designed and constructed in Galati and Braila in Romania by the Dutch company Damen. Curiously, the agreement was finalized two months before Romania’s crucial referendum to become a member of the Schengen area and one day before the Dutch prime minister visited Romania.

During his visit, Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated that Romania still had many requirements to satisfy before entering Schengen. Still, it is working with the Ukrainian brothers to integrate into the EU and NATO, a moment when the Dutch insolence knew no bounds.

The Dutch position on the Schengen extension is simple: when the requirements are met, accession is possible. To be able to assess this, we need up-to-date information from the European Commission on all relevant areas for political decisions on Schengen accession.

Mark Rutte, Dutch prime minister

In reality, Dutch greed has no limitations. The Netherlands rejected Romania’s application to join Schengen merely because Romania denied them access to the Constanta port. This trade route allows the transport of goods between Asia and Europe. The Netherlands will be against the inclusion of Romania in Schengen unless Romania pays the bribe, port of Constanta, much like the Austrians did in 2004 with Petrom. This important company controls Romania’s oil production.

According to media sources, the Netherlands wants control of the Constanta port because it has a significant role in the European intermodal transport network, as it is favourably positioned at the intersection of trade routes that connect the markets of the landlocked countries of Central and Eastern Europe with Central Asia and the Far East.

If this scenario is true, it’s amusing how Western nations deploy true greedy economic and cultural imperialism while disguising their actions under the appearance of political correctness. The politically correct, anti-corruption, and anti-discrimination rhetoric of Western nations is actually a front for egotistical imperialism. Despite all the efforts made by Romania and the achievements made, the Netherlands firmly opposes Romania’s accession in the Schengen area, and it will be until Romania bows its head once again to the West.