Schengen, a spaced-out accession

Romania's bid to join Schengen is at the core of public debates in Bucharest

Bogdan Matei, 12.12.2023, 13:50

So long as Schengen is out of bounds, Romanians and Bulgarians will continue to consider themselves second-tier European citizens, the media and politicians in Bucharest and Sofia have warned for years. The issue has become increasingly pressing ahead of the European Parliament elections due next year in June, and the frustration generated by this undeserved exclusion fuels the approval rating of Euro-skeptic or outright anti-European parties in both countries. Having joined the community bloc in 2007, Romania and Bulgaria have been denied Schengen accession for nearly a decade, whereas Croatia, a country that acceded to the EU in 2013, was last year admitted into the visa-free travel area. Over 400 million people can travel inside the Schengen Area without going through border checks. Of all the EU member states, only Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Ireland are not part of Schengen, which also includes four non-EU countries: Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Iceland and Norway. Candidates require the unanimous vote of all Schengen members, and so far, Netherlands has blocked Bulgarias bid, while Austria has opposed Romanias candidacy.

On Monday, Austrias Interior Minister Gerhard Karner announced measures Romania needs to implement before Austria can greenlight the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria, by opening its air borders. More progress is needed in the field of the EUs external land borders, by tripling the number of border police employees. The Commission must also earmark funds to secure the border infrastructure on the Bulgaria-Turkish and Romanian-Serbian borders. Minister Karner also wants Romania and Bulgaria to receive asylum seekers, particularly Afghans and Syrians, who might cross into Romania in route to Austria. Bulgarias Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov has described Austrias conditions as unacceptable, saying his government refuses to accommodate migrants from Austria. A more toned-down reaction came from Romanias Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who welcomed the announcement describing it as a personal success. The opposition however regards Karners announcement as a smokescreen given that Schengens land borders will remain closed to the thousands of lorries waiting for days before crossing, while the state incurs millions of EUR in losses. Romanias Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu called for patience, saying that the Dutch Parliament must also give its consent to lift the veto on Bulgarias Schengen accession before planning the next phases. (VP)