EU interior ministers agreed on Thursday, the 12th of December, that Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of the Schengen free travel area as of the 1st of January 2025, following Austria’s decision on Monday to override its veto against their accession, reports Politico.
The countries, along with Croatia, were due to join the Schengen area in 2023, but the deal fell apart when Austria criticised Bulgaria and Romania for failing to deal with the soaring number of migrants arriving via the Western Balkans route.
“After ‘Schengen air’, now Romania and Bulgaria have an open ‘Schengen land’,” Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said on Monday, adding that Austria’s demands had led to a drop in migrant arrivals.
Romania and Bulgaria partly joined the Schengen area in March, when they were allowed to travel freely by air and sea.
In November, the interior ministers of Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania agreed to “initiate the necessary measures” to set a date for lifting checks at the land borders with Romania and Bulgaria, provided that joint efforts to stop illegal migration continue.
Romania and Bulgaria get the Schengen green light
