Closer to full Schengen accession
After waiting 13 years, Romania and Bulgaria will join the Schengen Area of free movement with their land borders as of January 2025
Daniela Budu, 25.11.2024, 13:50
The Ministers of the Interior of Romania, Hungary, Austria and Bulgaria reached a historic agreement in Budapest on Friday on the enlargement of the Schengen Area, paving the way for the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria starting on January 1, 2025. The final decision, however, which requires the agreement of all EU interior ministers will be taken on December 12 at the JHA Council in Brussels. “I have always considered that the current situation is unfair to Romania, which has made numerous efforts in recent years and long ago fulfilled all the conditions to become part of the Schengen Area” – said the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, whose country is holding, until the end of the year, the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Moreover, all the European institutions have supported in recent years the accession of the two states to the area of free movement and welcomed the positive result of the meeting in Budapest. “Let 2025 see Schengen become stronger”, wrote the leader of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on social media.The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has also welcomed the “positive development on Romania and Bulgaria fully joining the Schengen area.” For his part, the Austrian Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, whose country has so far opposed the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the free movement area, acknowledged that “illegal migration has decreased, but we must continue to strengthen the external borders of the European Union. Concerning veto on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria, he pointed out: “it is not only my decision, it is the decision of the entire chancellery “.
In Budapest, Minister Cătălin Predoiu welcomed the agreement and stressed that this goal is for the benefit of all, as Romania is a real security provider in the Schengen Area.
Cătălin Predoiu: “We reached an agreement. The meeting was a success. Our goal, Romania’s goal at this meeting was to create the conditions for a positive decision at the JHA Council in December. It was to create the conditions so that the Austrian veto could be lifted, so that we would have a decision this year. And I think it was a common goal, including that of my colleague and friend Gerhard Karner. It was important that everyone was comfortable, as the very good work done by the Romanian and Bulgarian border police, together with their colleagues from Serbia, Hungary, Austria, this very good work that was the basis of the path we travelled, will continue even after Romania and Bulgaria join the Schengen Area with land borders as well”.
We recall that Austria has opposed the enlargement of the free movement zone from 2022 as a sign of protest against the numerous illegal entries into its territory. In March this year, it accepted partial Schengen membership for the two Eastern European states, with air and sea borders, and established a roadmap for a possible extension to land borders. (MI)
