2023-12-30 22:45:30
Los countries of the European Union (EU) They agreed this Saturdayunanimously, the gradual entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen free movement area after Austria, the last country of the Twenty-seven that opposed the measure, lifted its veto.
The decision means that, starting in March, Controls will be eliminated at the internal air and sea borders with those two countries -which entered the EU in 2007-, with the commitment, in addition to Austria, Bulgaria and Romania, to later agree on the date of the end of ground controls, reported the current Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU.
“Congratulations to the citizens of Romania and Bulgaria for the extension of Schengen for sea and air transport passengers,” said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, through his profile on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Michel pointed out that it is “a long-awaited step by Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to enjoy easier freedom of movementwith the prospect of land transportation to come”.
“Today is a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania. And a day of great pride for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens,” declared the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a statement, praising the two countries’ “hard work, commitment and perseverance”.
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said in X that the decision “has been a long time coming” but “makes our Union stronger and our people safer”.
Sources from the Ministry of the Interior of Spain They described the agreement as “historic” and they assured that it was one of the priorities of the Spanish presidency of the EU Council that concludes this Sunday.
They also stated that the progressive lifting of controls on the internal borders of Bulgaria and Romania will “strengthen and expand” the European free movement area and facilitate the movement of millions of people, with “a very positive social and economic impact throughout the region.” “.
The European Commissioner for the Interior, Ylva Johansson, pointed out that this “historic decision” of the Council “comes after 13 years of blockade and is the result of political commitment and determination”, and hoped “that next year the Council will be equally in a position to decide on the abolition of controls at land borders”.
Ready for integration
Although the European Commission and European Parliament have been ensuring for years that Bulgaria and Romania, members of the EU since 2007, are prepared to enter Schengen, Austria had until now blocked their entry.
The Commission confirmed for the first time that both Bulgaria and Romania were prepared to join the Schengen area without internal border controls in 2011 and, since then, they have continued to demonstrate that they meet the conditions as confirmed by three fact-finding missions to the external borders of Bulgaria and Romania in 2022 and 2023, the EC said.
The Commission also launched pilot projects with Romania and Bulgaria last March to boost the management of external borders, strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries and guarantee the speed of asylum and return procedures.
At the same time, the EC made it clear that the Schengen area is also prepared to welcome Bulgaria and Romania.
In the last decade, lThe EU has worked to strengthen the architecture that protects space without controls at the internal borders and a series of measures have been introduced in the field of security and police cooperation.
Discussions on a date for the possible abolition of checks on people at internal land borders will continue in 2024 and the Council is expected to adopt a decision on this within a “reasonable timeframe”, according to the Commission, adding that it will continue to support economically and through the European external border agency Frontex to Bucharest and Sofia.
The Schengen Treaty establishes the lifting of border controls between its Member Stateswhich currently cover 4.3 million square kilometers and 423 million citizens of 27 European countries (23 EU members and 4 non-EU members).
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