Schengen, not yet

The European Commission still aims at reaching a decision regarding Romania's and Bulgaria's Schengen accession

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Roxana Vasile, 06.12.2023, 14:00

In the absence of the unanimity of the EU member states, the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area is not yet possible, although both have, for many years, met all the technical criteria required. Moreover, projects are underway that are strengthening the border of the European Union better than ever. Austria and the Netherlands stick to their unfavorable position, at least for now. Last year, at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, Austria voted against the acceptance of both countries in Schengen, while the Netherlands voiced reservations only with regard to Bulgaria.

Under these conditions, currently, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu is waiting to find out what decision the Netherlands will adopt regarding the acceptance of Bulgaria, after the early legislative elections recently held in Romanias neighboring country:

„First of all, Romania and Bulgaria, as you well know, come together in this. We are first waiting for the decision of the Netherlands regarding Bulgaria and we will see what Romania will do next”.

As for Austria, Foreign Minister Luminiţa Odobescu says that, recently, communication on this matter has improved, and efforts are continuing to reach a mutually agreed solution. Luminiţa Odobescu:

„There is a dialogue with the Austrian side, the matter is still being discussed, there are diplomatic steps. We are supported in this by both the European Commission and the other member states. We are working to identify a solution as soon as possible and, obviously, we will see in the next period what are the exact steps to be taken.”

According to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the moment was not favorable from a political point of view for Romania to ask for a new vote at the JHA Council that took place on Tuesday evening, in Brussels. However, this could happen this month, within an extraordinary council meeting.

„We could not be on the agenda, unless we wanted to force a vote that we would have known in advance, not necessarily the vote of Austria against Romania, we would have known very clearly the vote of the Netherlands against Bulgaria. The procedure in the Netherlands is more complicated than in Romania, it is first voted on Parliament, and then the Prime Minister goes with a mandate from Parliament to vote in a European Council. The only solution, at this moment, is to wait for the reaction of the Netherlands – and it will come soon. And you know that I also had discussions with Mr. Frans Timmermans regarding Bulgaria and the convening of an extraordinary JHA meeting on this matter.”

Tuesday evening, at the end of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Ylva Johansson, stated that the European Commission still wanted a decision on the enlargement of the Schengen area, by accepting Romania and Bulgaria this year. Spain, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the Union, also wants Romania and Bulgaria to become members of the area of ​​free movement of persons and goods before December 31. (MI)