Romania and Bulgaria join border-free Schengen area
Published: Sunday, Dec 31st 2023, 02:30
Updated At: Sunday, Dec 31st 2023, 02:32
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The border-free Schengen area in Europe is growing. The EU countries agreed on Saturday to extend the area to Romania and Bulgaria, as announced by the Spanish Council Presidency on the X platform, formerly Twitter. Accordingly, checks on persons at internal air and sea borders are to be lifted from the end of March 2024. A decision on the lifting of controls at land borders will be made at a later date, according to the statement.
The Schengen area is intended to ensure the unrestricted movement of people in Europe. To date, 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have belonged to it.
The admission of the two EU countries Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area has so far failed, mainly due to resistance from Austria. The government in Vienna had justified its rejection on the grounds that too many unregistered migrants were arriving. New members can only be accepted unanimously. Romania and Bulgaria had been waiting for the decision since 2011.
The EU Commission welcomed the decision of the EU countries. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria will promote travel, trade and tourism and further consolidate the internal market. The President of the Brussels authority, Ursula von der Leyen, said it was an important step forward for both countries and for the Schengen area as a whole. This major achievement is the result of the hard work, commitment and perseverance of both countries.
All EU Member States will become full members of the Schengen area as soon as they are ready. This is both a right and an obligation.
Romania and Bulgaria had already joined the EU in 2007. Until September, however, the judiciary and rule of law there were under special surveillance by the EU Commission due to rampant corruption and organized crime. These problems were another reason why the heads of state and government did not unanimously agree on accession for a long time. In mid-September, the authority officially ended the special monitoring and Romania and Bulgaria were said to be ready for membership.
The Federal Foreign Office congratulated the two countries on Saturday evening. "Europe is moving closer together today," it said in a post on X. The internal border controls at the air and sea borders with Bulgaria and Romania will soon be abolished, and the land borders should soon follow. Germany is continuing to work towards this.
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