2023-12-30 23:23:28
The 27 unanimously approved this Saturday the gradual incorporation of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area starting in March 2024, which includes the last two community countries that were not within the free movement of people treaty after lifting Austria his veto. This has been the last agreement of the Council under the Spanish rotating presidency of the EU for the second half of 2023.
«Schengen grows! The Council of the EU has decided to extend the Schengen area to Bulgaria and Romania. Internal air and sea border controls will be lifted in March 2024, while the decision on the end of land controls will be taken later,” highlighted the current Spanish Presidency of the European Council.
Thus, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania have committed to addressing, throughout 2024, a date for the lifting of land controls, according to sources from the Ministry of the Interior.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, highlighted that this is “a day of great pride for Bulgaria and Romania.” «It is a big step forward for them and for the Schengen area. They have worked hard for it. They both deserve it. “They are going to make the Schengen zone even stronger,” she pointed out.
The decision has been validated by written procedure communicated to the 27 community capitals, these sources have explained. Furthermore, it culminates a process that began twelve years ago and was one of the priorities of the Ministry of the Interior for the semester of the Spanish Presidency that ends this Sunday.
It has been possible after intense negotiation in recent weeks between the affected Member States (Austria, Bulgaria and Romania), with the support of the European Commission and the mediation of the Spanish presidency of the Council.
The negotiating determination of the presidency has managed to overcome persistent reluctance and reach a fair and historic agreement, Interior sources consulted by Europa Press have highlighted.
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, they highlighted.
In December 2022, the last time an agreement was attempted with the Twenty-seven on this matter, the veto of Austria and the Netherlands frustrated the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area, something that the European Commission has been demanding for a decade because it defends that meet all the criteria provided for accession.
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