I want to express my deep feeling of humiliation following the rejection of Romania into the Schengen Area. I know Austria lied because I am truly an international citizen and I travel extensively in Europe for many years. The migration issues are simply not true.

This move is only going to create increasing division and equals self-sabotage in the face of other hawkish countries who can only enjoy this European Union self-defeating scene. I consider that the world I knew or I thought I know is crumbling.

I can’t say I am proud of being a Romanian. But I do have a sense of dignity. I am as European as any other European living on the continent. And the fact that Austria has tried to blackmail my native country for economic reasons is deeply regrettable; this should not be done among partners in a common project.

Personally, I will continue to bear the handicap of having a Romanian citizenship and being checked as a dirty dangerous despicable beggar and thief every time I have to cross the borders of Europe. This is the message I am getting today from the EU and it can’t be seen differently unless we say that black is white and vice-versa.

Today I allow myself the right to react. I ceased writing online in Romanian for more than 3 years. It’s time to reconsider this.