EU interior ministers have discussed the expansion of the Schengen area. The proposal to accept Bulgaria and Romania as Schengen members fell through Austria’s opposition.
BRUSSELS The long wait for Romania and Bulgaria to achieve Schengen membership continues. The matter is confirmed to by EU sources.
The EU’s interior ministers did not find a consensus on accepting the countries into the European free movement area.
Austria, which takes care of unregistered migrants arriving via Romania and Bulgaria, was an obstacle to Schengen membership.
According to Chancellor Karl Nehammer (you will switch to another service) it is about the security of both the EU and Austrians.
Minister of the Interior by Gerhard Karner by The Schengen system does not work (you switch to another service) as it is now, and Austria cannot therefore support the enlargement to Bulgaria and Romania.
The long wait continues
The delay in the Schengen decision is a hard blow to Romania and Bulgaria, which have been EU members since 2007.
In practice, the exhaustion of the decision means that internal border checks between Bulgaria and Romania and the Schengen countries will continue.
Apart from Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, only Ireland and Cyprus are EU countries outside Schengen.
The area of free movement also includes the non-EU countries Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
According to the Commission’s assessment, Romania and Bulgaria meet the requirements of Schengen cooperation. The EU Parliament has also forced the member states to accept the extension of the Schengen area.
Bulgaria has announced considering countermeasures (you switch to another service)if its accession to Schengen is postponed.
The door opened for Croatia
As expected, Croatia got the green light for its own Schengen membership. Croatia becomes the 27th member of the Schengen area.
Border checks between Croatia and the Schengen countries will be removed at the turn of the year. Then Croatia will also adopt the EU’s common currency, the euro.
Croatia joined the EU in 2013.