The interior ministers of Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary agreed on Friday in Budapest on a new border protection package to set the course for the accession of the two Balkan countries Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen.
Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) spoke of “a new important step towards coordination” during the EU Council of Interior Ministers in December. A decision won’t be made until December: “Let’s cross the bridge when we get to it,” Karner said.
No more veto from Austria
Romanian Interior Minister Cătălin Predoiu said at a joint press conference that Austria no longer exercised a veto. He is therefore confident that Romania will successfully join Schengen by the end of the year. “We crossed a very important border today in Budapest.”
Hungarian Interior Minister and acting Council President Sándor Pintér also said Bulgaria and Romania could fully join Schengen in January. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said she hoped both countries would join Schengen in January. Both countries met the necessary criteria.
New border protection package presented
The border protection package presented by interior ministers on Friday stipulates that the countries participating in Budapest will send a joint contingent of a hundred border guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border, as Pintér said. The details and exact contributions of the countries should be decided in December. In addition, internal border controls between Bulgaria and Romania will continue for a certain period, Karner said.
Karner praised the efforts so far: before Austria’s Schengen veto in 2022, there were around 70,000 arrests on Austria’s eastern border, now there are 3,000, “we are moving towards zero”. Bulgarian Interior Minister Atanas Ilkow said his country has made great efforts. Bulgaria will send more than 1,100 additional border police officers.
The Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council wants to reach a formal agreement on the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area during the meeting of EU Home Affairs Ministers on December 12. Romania and Bulgaria have been members of ‘Schengen Air’ since March, which means that air and sea border controls have been lifted. However, full accession to Schengen will only be achieved once land borders are opened.
Source: Krone
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