Romania & Bulgaria

EU interior ministers say yes to Schengen expansion

As expected, the EU interior ministers decided on Thursday to extend the border-free Schengen area to include Bulgaria and Romania. Austria had previously announced that it would no longer vote against. 

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) confirmed to journalists before the vote that Austria would give up its veto and vote in favor. All other EU countries had already declared their approval some time ago. The way is now clear for the borders to be opened on January 1, 2025. However, there will still be controls in some areas.

New border protection package
The EU Commission has been appealing to Austria for some time to give up its blockade of Romania and Bulgaria's full Schengen accession. A first step was taken with "Air Schengen": border controls at the air and sea borders with Bulgaria and Romania were lifted at the end of March. In November, the interior ministers of Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary then agreed a new border protection package in Budapest.

The package provides for the countries participating in Budapest to send a joint contingent of one hundred border guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border. In addition, internal border controls between Bulgaria and Romania as well as Hungary and Romania are to remain in place for a certain period of time. If the EU's external border protection is not yet as robust as it should be, then such compensatory measures are necessary, according to Interior Minister Karner.