President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said, on Thursday, at the Romanian Athenaeum, that he remains faithful to his belief that Romania should be part of the Schengen space.

“Romania has its place at the center of the European Union. The European Union is not complete without Romania. The natural place of Romania is also in the Schengen Area. I was pleading in 2014 that Romania should be part of Schengen. I remain faithful to this promise. Romania must be part of the Schengen Area” said the European official, Agerpres reads.

He spoke of the “difficult and often exigent journey” of Romania and he showed appreciation for the fact that Romania kept its culture in the communist period.

Juncker also spoke of the challenges regarding the rule of law. “The European Union is formed of compromise, but when we speak of the rule of law and the anticorruption battle, there is no possible compromise,” he said.

Furthermore, the President of the European Commission confessed that he is relying on the “energy and unity of the Romanian nation” in what regards the Presidency of the EU Council.