Schengen debate

Karner maintains veto against Romania & Bulgaria

Karner does not want to make Bulgaria and Romania fully-fledged Schengen members.(Bild: APA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER)

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) insists on Austria's current veto position regarding full accession in the Schengen debate on Romania and Bulgaria. Karner said this on Monday during a media conference in Innsbruck. 

At the same time, however, the Minister referred to the agreement that has already been reached regarding the lifting of controls at sea and in the air, also known as "Air and Sea Schengen".

"I think it is very important to take this step now and not to philosophize about the next one," Karner said, referring to a unanimous EU decision and further curbing expectations regarding full accession.

"Clear conditions" for Karner
The compromise had been reached after "tough negotiations" and provided for "clear conditions", emphasized the Interior Minister. These include that the land border must be secured and that additional Frontex police officers and resources would be available at the external border. In addition, asylum seekers previously registered in Romania and Bulgaria are to be returned from Austria to the respective countries.

The agreement on "Air-Schengen" means that travelers from Romania and Bulgaria no longer have to fly to other EU countries via the foreign terminals. However, border controls will remain in place on land routes. Air and sea border controls should be lifted in March 2024. Discussions on the lifting of land controls will continue this year, according to reports.

Austria internationally isolated
As reported by the "Kurier" newspaper (Monday edition), pressure is mounting on Austria to agree to the two countries joining the Schengen area. The only EU country that is still consistently standing in the way of this step is Austria.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also convinced that Romania and Bulgaria will soon be fully-fledged members of the Schengen area: "You can count on us to convince Austria that they deserve to be fully in Schengen," von der Leyen was quoted as saying after a special summit in Brussels at the beginning of February.