The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has expressed her hopes that Romania and Bulgaria will soon become members of the Schengen Zone. She stated that the European Commission has been convinced for several years that both countries are ready to join the Schengen Zone.
Von der Leyen assured that the EU had undertaken several European-funded projects in recent months in order to strengthen the borders in both these two Balkan countries and on-site fact-finding missions, which have convinced Austria to take the first steps towards air and maritime Schengen. She also highlighted the recently agreed-upon increased multiannual EU budget which includes additional resources for strengthening the borders.
The membership of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Zone was blocked by Austria in December 2022 over irregular migration concerns. However, recently, Vienna unfolded the “Air Schengen” proposal that allowed these two countries to access the Schengen zone by air and sea starting from March 2024.
Austria’s Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, said that his country continues to maintain its veto regarding the land border accession, considering the further expansion of the Schengen Area in terms of land borders inappropriate at this stage. He emphasized the importance of protecting the external border before allowing complete freedom of movement within the EU.
Recently, Romanian MEPs Dacian Ciolos and Vlad Gheorghe, as well as Greek MEP Georgios Kyrtsos and Bulgarian MP Daniel Laurer, called on Greece’s Minister of Migration and Asylum, Dimitris Kairidis, to abolish border controls between these three countries in order to ease tourist traffic in summer. However, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Nikolay Denkov, emphasized that the abolishment of land border controls between these three countries is not being discussed at the political level and would go against EU legislation.
The aspirations of Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen Zone continue to be a topic of discussion and negotiation within the EU, with various factors and concerns shaping the path towards potential membership.
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