The Schengen open border area currently includes 23 of the bloc’s 27 member countries, including non-EU members Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.
The European Union has approved the partial accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced this on Saturday, December 30.
This decision will remove internal checks on air and sea borders from March 2024. Control will remain on land borders.
“Both countries have worked hard for this. They both deserve it. They will make Schengen even stronger,” von der Leyen said.
He noted that the ninth expansion of the Schengen area confirms and strengthens mutual trust and unity between the member states on which Schengen was built and will help advance this important project.
It is understood that discussions on a possible date for the abolition of checks on people at land borders will continue into 2024, and that an EU decision on this issue is expected to be made within a “reasonable timeframe”.
Bulgaria and Romania have been striving to become part of the Schengen area since 2007. The European Commission announced the readiness of the two countries to take this step back in 2011, but the process was blocked by various EU countries. The EU Council agreed on a solution in December 2022, but Austria ended up blocking it due to “weak efforts” to combat illegal migration.
Earlier, the updated Schengen Information System (SIS) was officially launched, which supports border control and law enforcement cooperation in 30 European countries.
Let’s remember that Croatia recently joined the Schengen zone.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.