2023-12-31 12:07:17
Great relief following the agreement on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, starting with the air and sea borders: “Today is a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania,” emphasized EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen late Saturday evening on X (formerly Twitter). The EU countries agreed on Saturday to expand the Schengen area to include Bulgaria and Romania, as the Spanish EU Council Presidency announced.
Controls at the air and sea borders will be lifted in March 2024. A decision on lifting land controls will be made later. The discussions on this would continue in 2024. “This is an important step forward for both countries and for the Schengen area as a whole,” said von der Leyen. “My congratulations to Bulgaria and Romania: this great achievement is the result of your hard work, commitment and perseverance.” An expanded Schengen area would strengthen the EU both internally and globally.
Austria had previously confirmed an agreement with Romania and Bulgaria on the so-called “Schengen Air”. As the Interior Ministry explained to the APA on Saturday, a corresponding legally binding text was sent to the Spanish EU Presidency on Friday evening. On December 8, 2022, Austria blocked an expansion of the border-free Schengen system to include Romania and Bulgaria, citing the high number of asylum seekers. The Netherlands also opposed Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen. However, Croatia’s accession to Schengen was given the green light.
The agreement now means that travelers from Romania and Bulgaria will no longer have to fly to other EU countries via the international terminals in the future. Passports are checked at the gate by the airlines with the support of the police.
Romania and Bulgaria welcome the move. “The decision to join the Schengen area with air and sea borders from March 2024 is an important first step,” said Romanian President Klaus Johannis on Saturday evening, according to the Romanian news agency Agerpres. He spoke on Facebook of a “positive interim result,” but the goal remains full membership. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu added: “After 13 years of failure and humiliation, this government has started a process that is irreversible from today. Next year we will continue our efforts to finally complete this process.”
Joining the Schengen area is a national priority, said a statement by Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel on Sunday. “Air Schengen is not ‘nothing’,” former Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov previously said via Facebook. “Ask the tens of thousands of Bulgarians who fill airports and planes, work in Europe and return to their families for holidays.” Bulgaria will also receive “significant financial resources to strengthen its borders.” This decision will be “an incentive for the Bulgarian border police to work even better and it will deal a blow to human traffickers,” said Petkov. Bulgaria has been waiting for this moment for twelve years.
The Russia-friendly opposition parties criticized Bulgaria’s limited accession to Schengen from the end of March 2024. “We have met all the conditions and deserve everything – full Schengen admission,” said Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova. The leader of the nationalist Vasrashdane (Rebirth) party, Kostadin Kostadinov, criticized the fact that, following the Dublin Agreement, Bulgaria now has to take in more refugees who have been repatriated from other EU states. “The government is turning Bulgaria into a huge refugee camp,” he claimed.
In a press release, the domestic industry spoke of an “important step” as the agreement not only makes things easier for travelers but also for companies. Austrian companies are among the most important investors in Romania with 11.2 billion euros and therefore more than 61,000 local jobs and Bulgaria with 2.8 billion euros and more than 21,000 local jobs, the industrial association said in a press release.
Business also welcomed the partial agreement in the Schengen dispute. “Romania and Bulgaria are important economic partners for Austria’s economy; our companies are the second most important foreign investor in both countries and have important sales markets in the region,” emphasized the Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ). At the same time, she called for further discussions to be held with a view to comprehensive solutions.
EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson welcomed Bulgaria and Romania “warmly” to the Schengen area. “This first but important step, allowing the free movement of citizens and companies by air and sea, breaks a 13-year blockade.” Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the end of controls at air and sea borders in the spring a first step. “Germany will continue to support full integration into the Schengen area. This is how Europe grows closer together!” it said on his X profile.
According to the Austrian Interior Ministry, Austria’s three conditions for the agreement were also recorded in the transmitted text. These are the increase in the deployment of the EU border protection agency Frontex in Romania and Bulgaria. Austria is also demanding money from the EU Commission for the external border protection of these countries, increased controls at the land borders and the acceptance of asylum seekers from Austria, especially from Afghanistan and Syria, by Romania and Bulgaria.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. Until September, the justice and legal system there was under special surveillance by the EU Commission due to corruption and organized crime. As the German Press Agency (dpa) reported, because of these problems there was no unanimity among the heads of state and government for accession for a long time. In mid-September, the authority officially ended the special surveillance and said Romania and Bulgaria were ready for membership.
The EU Commission emphasized that the Schengen area is also ready to accept Bulgaria and Romania. Over the last ten years, the EU has worked to strengthen architecture. A number of measures have been introduced in the area of security and police and judicial cooperation. The Schengen area will now be further supported by a new governance model, a new evaluation mechanism and an annual cycle of reporting and monitoring. Significant financial support and Frontex assistance would continue to be provided to support Bulgaria and Romania in protecting the Union’s external borders.
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