Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed the previous veto position of the authorities in Austria regarding the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen.
This happened during a debate in Innsbruck, reports the Austrian electronic edition "Kronenzaitung", which recalls the already-reached agreement to remove controls on sea and air, known as "Air and Sea Schengen".
"I think it's very important that we take this step now and not philosophize about the next one," Carner said of the EU's unanimous decision that limited full membership.
The compromise was reached after "difficult negotiations" and provides for "clear conditions", Interior Minister Karner emphasized. This means that the land border has to be guarded and there are additional police officers and Frontex resources at the external border. In addition, asylum seekers in Austria who were previously registered in Romania and Bulgaria will be returned to their respective countries.
The Schengen Air Agreement means that passengers from Romania and Bulgaria no longer have to fly to other EU countries through international terminals. However, land border controls remain in place. Air and sea border controls will be abolished in March 2024 d. Discussions on the abolition of land controls will continue this year, "Kronenzaitung" recalls.
Austria is isolated internationally
For its part, Kurir reported yesterday that pressure is growing on Austria to agree to accept both countries in the Schengen area. The only EU country still consistently standing in the way of this step is Austria.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is convinced that Romania and Bulgaria will soon be full members of the Schengen area: "You can count on us to convince Austria that both countries deserve to be fully part of Schengen," said von der Leyen in the beginning of February.
BGNES recalls that this is not Gerhard Karner's first sharp statement. At the beginning of the year, he declared against the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the "land" of Schengen. "At this stage, it would be wrong. Land border control is still necessary. It's not just about Romania and Bulgaria. The whole migration system is in disarray. I'm not the one to judge Romania and Bulgaria. I'm committed to a functioning system at the European level. And this will only be the case if the external border is secured. This is also an essential part of the new pact on asylum and migration that the EU has adopted and which we must now implement. Only then can there be full freedom of travel again in the EU," Carner told Di Presse at the time.
Karner also said that he wants to keep his right of veto against the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen, but does not impose specific conditions on the two countries. When asked if there are additional conditions that the two countries must explicitly fulfill, he did not give a specific answer, but said that things should be done in stages: "We have now taken a step forward with Romania and Bulgaria by accepting them into the Shen area by air and water. And we have to continue step by step." /BGNES
