I am confident that Bulgaria and Romania will reap all the benefits of the Schengen area from the beginning of 2025.
This is what Commissioner for Home Affairs Ilva Johansson said at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, reports BGNES.
Today in the European Parliament a debate on the abolition of controls for Bulgaria and Romania at internal land borders in Schengen is taking place. MEPs are expected to call on the EU Council to finalise the decision on 12 December.
"We have achieved a lot. Five years ago, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania were stuck in the waiting room even though they were ready. We say they are ready, so is the Parliament, but the Council had not yet taken a decision. Change can sometimes come very quickly, but not automatically. Key changes have happened in the last two years," Johansson said.
BGNES recalls that the two countries joined Schengen, by air and water, in March 2024, but land border checks remained. On 22 November, Austria signed an agreement with Bulgaria and Romania to join Schengen fully from 1 January next year. The Hungarian presidency of the EU Council has drafted the decision, which is due to be voted on at the meeting of interior ministers to be held on 12 December in Brussels. | BGNES
