Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria still blocked
Published: Tuesday, Dec 5th 2023, 16:40
Zurück zu Live Feed
Austria continues to oppose the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. As the decision must be unanimous, accession remains blocked. Switzerland, which is also a Schengen member, supports enlargement.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner made it clear on Tuesday ahead of the meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels: "Schengen must become better, not bigger." The minister believes that too many migrants are entering the EU.
Never before had there been so many border controls within the Schengen area. Many EU states therefore reintroduced internal border controls, Karner continued. Germany had also just extended its border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Karner is therefore calling for the EU's external border protection to be improved - for example through fast-track asylum procedures. "That is what ultimately makes a functioning Schengen system."
Negotiations on the migration package
This could soon be the case. The EU member states and the EU Parliament are currently negotiating a final compromise on the migration package, which includes fast-track asylum procedures. The next negotiations will take place next Thursday.
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson expressed optimism on Tuesday that an agreement will soon be reached on the migration package. The will is there, say diplomats, politicians and officials in Brussels. If no compromise is reached, negotiations will continue on December 18.
Vienna's domestic political reasons
However, it is questionable whether an agreement on the migration package will change Austria's mind. This is because Vienna's tough stance is primarily due to domestic political reasons.
National elections will be held in the fall of 2024 and everything currently points to the right-wing populist FPÖ winning them. This is probably the reason why the ruling ÖVP is so uncompromising on the issue of migration and Schengen.
One way out of the blockade could be for Romania and Bulgaria to join Schengen in stages: First the ports and airports could be freed from passport controls, followed later by the national borders. This idea has been circulating for some time. Officially, however, no one has yet thrown this proposal into the ring.
©Keystone/SDA
German 
English 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic