According to a statement released by the Romanian Ministry of the Interior late on Wednesday, Romania and Bulgaria have agreed with Austria to join the open-border Schengen area of Europe by air and sea beginning in March 2024. Additionally, discussions about land borders are scheduled to resume in the following year.
A year ago, Austria voiced its opposition to expanding the Schengen zone to include Romania and Bulgaria at a conference of interior ministers of the European Union. Austria said that the level of illegal immigration was still too high and that the two countries needed to take more measures to prevent it before they could join the Schengen zone.
Austria has partially surrendered, suggesting entrance in phases, a proposal that Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner called “Air Schengen.” This comes after they consented to more stringent border security measures and received support from other EU governments.
The European Commission has stated that a comprehensive study has proved that Romania and Bulgaria have satisfied all of the standards of the Schengen Area, even though they are on significant routes for the illegal trade of armaments as well as drug and people trafficking.
According to Romania, the objection from Austria was unfounded. Romania cited statistics from the European Union border agency Frontex, which showed that unlawful migrants were mainly entering the EU via the Western Balkans and not from Romania.
The conservative People’s Party, which is now in power in Austria, has made the battle against illegal immigration a central campaign topic for many years. In the lead in opinion surveys ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled for the following year is the far-right Freedom Party, which has a similar stance on migration.
Marcel Ciolacu, the Prime Minister of Romania, expressed his satisfaction with the partial entrance deal. “From March, Romanians will benefit from Schengen advantages on air and sea routes,” stated the prime minister. “I am convinced that in 2024 we will also finish negotiations for land borders.”
According to estimates provided by the Ministry of Finance, Romania’s yearly economic growth would increase by a half percentage point if it were to become a member of the open-borders region of Europe.
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