According to the Hungarian government, both Romania and Bulgaria are “Schengen ready”. The current EU presidency country therefore expects that the admission of the two countries to the Schengen area will be sealed in December. So far, the government in Vienna has put the brakes on this issue.
Both Romania and Bulgaria have shown that they are protecting their borders, State Secretary for European Policy Balázs Molnár said on the sidelines of an event in Vienna on Thursday. The number of illegal border crossings from Hungary and Slovakia has also decreased. The State Secretary said he hoped that Austria would also look at these new reports. Schengen is not only a security problem, but also an economic problem.
No boycott of the EU summit in November?
For the informal EU summit on 7/8. The Hungarian government representative expects a “full house” in Budapest on November 1. There is no indication of cancellations, not even from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Molnár said he was “not happy” that the European Commission boycotted his participation in meetings in Hungary.
Von der Leyen was responding to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s solo efforts on Ukraine policy, and several EU countries also stayed away from meetings in Hungary. A “Budapest Declaration” on EU competitiveness will be adopted at the informal EU summit in early November.
Karner: “Not yet at the end of the road”
Austria is currently blocking the full admission of Bulgaria and Romania, which have been members of “Air Schengen” since the end of March. Air and sea border controls were lifted. The Austrian Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, said at the last Council meeting in Luxembourg two weeks ago that he believes the time is not yet ripe for the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen: “We are on the right track, but not yet at the end. off the road.”
Brunner wants to ‘complete’ Schengen as commissioner
Finance Minister Magnus Brunner, who has been nominated as EU Commissioner for Migration, lists the “completion of the Schengen area” as one of his priorities if he is actually allowed to take office in Brussels. This is evident from a protocol from the EU Parliament, in which Brunner answered various questions from MPs.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
