Romania and Bulgaria are set to join the European border-free zone – but only in part after Austria objected.
The two countries will join Europe’s Schengen zone by air and sea by March 2024 – an area which allows allows 400 million people to move freely between its 27 member states – currently 23 of its countries are EU members.
Austria initially objected to expanding the area after fears that it would lead to more illegal immigration.
But it’s now agreed that Bulgaria and Romania can enter the Schengen zone in stages, with talks on opening land borders to continue next year.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu welcomed the news on social media platform Facebook. He said: “After thirteen years, Romania will finally join Schengen – we have a political agreement.”
“As of next March, Romanians can benefit from the advantages of the Schengen area by air and sea.” He added: “I am also convinced that in 2024 we will close negotiations on land borders.”
Once their entry into the zone is complete then Ireland and Cyprus will be the only EU countries outside it. The two countries – that joined the EU in 2007 – have been trying to enter Schengen for more than a decade.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov confirmed the deal at a year-end government meeting. He confirmed on Thursday that an agreement was reached after “complicated negotiations.”
He said: “After 12 years without much progress on Schengen, today we can congratulate ourselves on this indisputable success of Bulgaria.”
Austria’s ruling People’s Party has taken a tough line on immigration under pressure from the far-right Freedom Party.
Tensions escalated earlier this month following reports that Austria could gradually withdraw its veto on Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen Area, allowing changes in its policy on air borders.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner emphasised the necessity of certain “conditions”, including strengthening the protection of the EU’s external borders, intensifying checks at land borders and ensuring better management of asylum seekers.
At the time Bulgarian Parliament President Rossen Zhelyazkov said: “Bulgaria should join the Schengen area in full, including at land and maritime borders, as it has fulfilled all necessary requirements.
He added: “An EU country like Austria cannot afford to impose conditions without the mandate of the EU Commission or all EU countries, conditions that go beyond the adherence criteria for Schengen.”
