The popular holiday destination Croatia could finally get the green light this Thursday to join the control-free Schengen area. The EU interior ministers are to vote at a meeting in Brussels (10 a.m.) on expanding the network of currently 26 European countries.
On the other hand, the situation is less promising for Bulgaria and Romania – their unrestricted accession to Schengen is likely to fail due to resistance from the Netherlands and Austria. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is expected to attend the meeting for Germany.
The EU Commission recently pushed for Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania to be included in the Schengen area, between whose members there are usually no stationary border controls.
The authority decided in mid-November that the addition of the trio would make the EU safer and more attractive and contribute to greater prosperity. Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria are already partially bound by the Schengen rules, but internal border controls with them have not yet been lifted.
Austria blocked the accession of Romania and Bulgaria
That’s why huge tourist traffic jams form every summer on the border with Croatia. After the vote on Thursday, controls at land borders could be abolished as early as the beginning of 2023, and at airports from March next year. Croatia will also introduce the euro as a means of payment in 2023.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer recently made it clear that lifting border controls with regard to Romania and Bulgaria is out of the question for his country at this point in time. The reason he gave was that too many unregistered migrants were arriving in Austria. “That means they crossed an external EU border and still got through in a country like Austria. These security issues need to be clarified first,” said the conservative politician.
The resistance of the Netherlands is directed solely against Bulgaria, for example because of constitutional concerns. It takes more time for a decision, said Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently.
The Schengen area currently includes 22 EU countries as well as Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland. This makes it the world’s largest area of freedom to travel. New members can only be admitted unanimously. In addition, the European Parliament must agree, which has already happened in the case of Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. Romania and Bulgaria have been waiting since 2011 for the decision that would lift border controls.
In addition to the Schengen expansion, the topic of migration is also on the agenda at the meeting of interior ministers, including the prospect of a possible increase in people seeking protection from Ukraine next winter.
To home page
Source: Tagesspiegel
I have been working in the news website industry for over 4 years now, first as a reporter and then as an editor. I enjoy writing about politics news and am also an author. I try to cover a lot of different angles when it comes to my articles so that readers can get a well-rounded understanding of the story.
