The EU approved the phased integration of Bulgaria and Romania into Schengen – Kommersant
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The Council of the European Union decided to begin the gradual integration of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area. EU countries have agreed to abolish border controls at sea and air borders from March 2024. Control will remain at land borders.
The Schengen Community was created in 1985 by France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Now it includes 27 countries: 23 EU states, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Schengen members abolish border controls among themselves.
The unanimous decision is stated in message European Commission. “This step will stimulate travel, trade, tourism, and strengthen the domestic market. Discussions on the next decision regarding the abolition of controls at land borders will continue in 2024,” the EC noted. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, promised that negotiations on the abolition of land border controls would be completed “within a reasonable time.”
Bulgaria and Romania have been awaiting integration into the Schengen area since joining the EU in 2007. The EC announced the readiness of the two countries to take this step back in 2011, but the process was blocked by various EU countries for 12 years. In December 2022, the Council of the European Union at the level of heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs agreed on a decision, but Austria eventually blocked it, explaining this by the weak efforts of the countries in the fight against illegal migration. In 2023, accession to Schengen blocked Hungary, which criticized Bulgaria for introducing a tax on the transit of Russian gas.
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