After more than ten years of waiting, Bulgaria and Romania have been given the green light to join Europe's free-travel Schengen area by air and sea from March. However, some restrictions will remain in place.
On December 30, the Spanish EU presidency announced that Romania and Bulgaria will be partially integrated into the Schengen area of free movement in March.
Romania and Bulgaria, both EU members since 2007, had been rejected a year previously from joining the vast Schengen zone, within which more than 400 million people can travel freely without internal border controls.
Although the European Commission and the European Parliament have been assuring for years that both countries are prepared to enter Schengen, Austria and the Netherlands had blocked the accession process until now.
Following complicated negotiations, Bulgaria and Romania reached an agreement with Austria on initially joining the Schengen area for air and sea crossings, but not by land.
For years, Vienna had vetoed both countries, saying that Austria had to host a disproportionate number of undocumented immigrants as a result of poorly protected external Schengen borders.
Together, the three countries will later agree on a date to end controls on Romania and Bulgaria's land borders.
The Netherlands had blocked Bulgaria's entry for more than 10 years due to concerns about corruption, crime and the rule of law. But on December 21, the Dutch parliament approved the government's position in favour of Bulgaria's Schengen entry.
CRITICISM OF TWO-STEP ACCESSION
Austria's reluctance to give a green light to the Schengen accession for land borders has outraged some Bulgarian businesses.
Vasil Velev, chair of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, demanded a stronger reaction from the Bulgarian public and the government.
"After all the efforts we made and meeting all requirements for Schengen entry, why aren't we equal with the rest," Velev said on national TV. He argued that levers should be sought which would give political players in Austria a motive to change their position.
Austrian companies based in Bulgaria are currently subject to tax audits.
Bulgarian Finance Minister Assen Vasilev has assured that ongoing investigations by the Bulgarian tax authorities against the Austrian supermarket chain Billa and OMV petrol stations are unrelated to Austria's position.
"The tax investigators are currently scrutinizing at least 500 to 700 companies," the minister said.
In Romania, the partial accession decision was welcomed by the ruling coalition and the business community but criticized by the opposition.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu described the decision as a big step forward, stressing that the Romanian government will continue to work both politically and technically to complete the process this year.
The National Council for SMEs in Romania (CNIPMMR) argued that the measure will facilitate trade by lowering transport costs for Romanian export goods and commodities. It would also contribute to creating a climate of confidence and strengthening Romania's image as a stable country within the EU.
On the other hand, several Romanian EU lawmakers voiced their dissatisfaction with this partial Schengen accession.
EU lawmaker Eugen Tomac believes that the commission and the Spanish EU presidency had played the "compromise card" with Austria, while fellow parliamentarian Dacian Cioloș - a former EU commissioner - said Romanians were being treated as second-class Europeans.
"The way we are now entering Schengen, in half and with absurd conditions ... will deepen the feeling that we are not fully considered Europeans," Cioloș said, while criticizing the lack of clear timetable for the Schengen accession to be completed.
MIGRATION AND THE EU'S EXTERNAL BORDER
The commission has promised to support Bulgaria and Romania in protecting the EU's external borders. Bulgaria, in particular, will receive significant financial support, as well as operational and technical assistance from the European border agency, Frontex, especially at the border with Turkey and Serbia.
"Austria's demands will be met," wrote Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on X, formerly Twitter, at the end of December. "The Frontex mission in Romania and Bulgaria will be increased and both countries will receive more EU funds to implement robust external border protection."
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel expressed hope that a date for the abolition of land border controls would be confirmed in 2024.
The Bulgarian government, for its part, has said it is committed to strictly applying EU asylum rules, known as the Dublin Regulation. This includes the readmission of people registered as asylum seekers in the country who have since moved on within the bloc, in accordance with EU rules on first-country responsibility.
Meanwhile, Croatian Interior Minister Davor Božinović told the HINA news agency that since Croatia joined the Schengen area in 2023, over 1,850 people smugglers had been arrested by the Croatian police.
This was "an increase of more than 90% from the previous year," he added. Božinović said that Croatia's Schengen accession had brought changes to policing.
AUSTRIA'S ECONOMY WELCOMES SCHENGEN ACCESSION
Austrian business representatives spoke of an "important step" as the partial Schengen entry will make things easier for companies.
Austrian businesses are among the most important investors in Romania with €11.2 billion ($12.3 billion), accounting for more than 61,000 local jobs, and in Bulgaria with €2.8 billion and more than 21,000 local jobs, according to the Industrial Association.
The Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ) called for further talks on a comprehensive solution: "Romania and Bulgaria are important economic partners for Austria's economy; our companies are the second most important foreign investors in both countries and have important sales markets in the region."
The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, APA, AGERPRES, BTA, dpa, EFE and HINA as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project.
