Romania and Bulgaria will be full members of the borderless Schengen area starting next January 1, after the Interior Ministers of the European Union have given the green light this Thursday to the definitive agreement that managed to lift the veto of Austria and the Netherlands to an accession that these two countries have been waiting for for more than a decade due to the blockade of several governments.
“It’s a great victory for Bulgaria and RomaniaAnd for all of Europe!”, celebrated the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, which Hungary holds this semester, in a brief statement after the adoption of the agreement unanimously by the 27 at a meeting in Brussels.
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande Marlaska, has already celebrated this step upon his arrival at the meeting in which the formal approval of the 27 was expected and has made it clear that “it was something that the European Union owed both Romania and Bulgaria. “at least” since 2011, when these two countries presented their “absolutely acceptable” plans for their integration.
The blockade was resolved in November at a meeting in Budapest with the countries involved and the participation of the European Commission in which the parties signed an agreement that includes commitments to combat irregular migration and accelerate deportations, as well as support to strengthen surveillance on the Bulgarian border with Turkey.
“Fully in Schengen, to which you belong,” stated, for her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenin a message spread through social networks.
Brussels has been defending for more than a decade that These two countries meet all the requirements to integrate the Schengen areabut the reservations of countries like Austria and the Netherlands have prevented its entry from taking place all this time, since requires approval in the EU Council unanimously.
The Community Executive maintains that this “important step” not only “completes” the Schengen area but also “strengthens” it and will “further strengthen the Internal Market and increase travel, trade and tourism.”
“A solid Schengen area reinforces the unity of the EU and makes it stronger on a global scale,” says the statement from Brussels, which also recalls that Romania and Bulgaria took the first step towards full integration almost a year ago, when at the end of the Spanish presidency of the EU, its gradual entry was agreed with a first phase that lifted maritime and air controls since March of this year.
For its part, The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has applauded the “positive decision taken in Brussels” and has stressed in a message published on his account on the social network X that “Romanian citizens long to be part of this space free of borders and free movement.”
“Our accession will reinforce the security and unity of the EU,” he said, while thanking “all EU institutions and Member States for their support and trust.”
“Today’s decision is a recognition of our years of efforts and the progress made. Romania guarantees that we will continue to act in a fully responsible manner to protect and strengthen the EU’s external borders,” concluded Iohannis.
With the entry of Romania and Bulgaria There are now 29 European countries that make up the Schengen areawith 25 of the 27 EU countries in the club (neither Cyprus nor Ireland) and Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Currently, however, there are a dozen of them that impose systematic controls on their border, among them Germany, France and Italy, which in practice means a suspension of Schengen.
