The EU Commission recommends expanding to include Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. But some governments are taking this too far. Others are threatening new border controls.
Free transit from January 1, 2023 from Iceland to Greece: This should result in the expansion of the Schengen area to include Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. No more traffic jams from Vienna to Pula, Austrian holidaymakers could also be happy. The EU Commission gave the green light for the three countries on Wednesday. According to Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson, they meet all the requirements for “full participation” in the agreement that is supposed to guarantee open internal borders. Previous participants are all EU countries with the exception of these three countries plus Ireland and Cyprus as well as the non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The treaty only provides for border controls in emergencies to protect internal security. In return, the Schengen countries participate in close cooperation between the security authorities and guarantee the protection of the common external borders.
In view of the never-ending waves of migration, especially via the Balkan route, some member states currently consider this expansion to be irresponsible. Individuals are already threatening to reintroduce internal border controls, as Austria is currently carrying out against Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary. On December 8, the Council of the EU (government representatives) is to vote on the three countries. In air traffic, the Schengen expansion would only become a reality on March 26th.