From 1 April this year, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will be able to enter freely (with no passport check) at any airport or port in the European Union. In theory, this should mean that one can travel by boat from Burgas to Italy or Spain as if you were traveling to Sunny Beach. However, if you are traveling by land from Romania to Hungary, you will still have to wait for a passport check at the border control.
This unorthodox decision was reached after Austria did everything to thwart the two countries' full membership of the Schengen area, even though all the established criteria were met years ago and this was officially confirmed several times by the European Commission.
But in politics and international negotiations, the final result is more important than the initial hopes. So at the end of 2023, Sofia and Bucharest were able to congratulate each other on having achieved half of the goal - Schengen membership by air and sea (not by river to specify) and with the vague promise of reopening negotiations to join by land in 2024.
More on the background
After the Netherlands withdrew its veto for Bulgaria (thanks to outgoing PM Mark Rutte's new international ambitions, which made him change his stance), and Hungary conceded after the abolition of Bulgaria's gas transit fee, Austria remained the only country still against the Schengen enlargement with the two Balkan states. This is not usually a very comfortable position at the European Council table, as countries are careful not to get into situations where they use their veto in case they derail future negotiations of national interest.
However, the government in Vienna, which is facing elections this year and is under pressure from the far right and the already typical migration problem, has decided to use the card to score points. So, although a large proportion of illegal migrants enter Austria via the Western Balkans route and Vienna did not veto Croatia's Schengen entry, Bulgaria and Romania have proved to be convenient victims.
The talks at the last Council of Heads of State and Government at the beginning of December did not lead to a solution, but apparently continued through diplomatic channels over the course of the month.
Austria was prepared to accept the air and sea compromise in return for the inclusion of five conditions in the formal agreement (Ironically, this is very similar to Bulgaria's position on N. Macedonia's EU pre-accession).
Following the agreement, the procedure was initiated on 30 December, the final day of the Spanish Presidency, and was literally completed on New Year's Day.
Close to failure
The Romanian cabinet tried to cheer up its citizens over the holidays and announced the news quickly. The Romanian Interior Ministry announced on 23 December that a political agreement had been reached with the interior ministries of Austria and Bulgaria on Schengen accession by air and sea from March 2024, while accession negotiations by land will continue and take place next year.
Naturally, the Bulgarian media bombarded the local cabinet with questions. PM Nikolay Denkov confirmed the information before the meeting of the Council of Ministers a day later. This threatened to derail everything at the last minute, as diplomats said that Austria had hardened its position due to the premature announcements before the procedure in Vienna was finalized. This mini-crisis was quickly overcome and late in the evening of 30 December, the Spanish Presidency of the European Council confirmed the information.
Austria's five conditions
The agreement is, of course, good news for the two countries, which have at least one foot in the Schengen area. The main problem remains the uncertainty about the full acceptance of the two countries. Bulgarian Foreign Minister and vice-PM Mariya Gabriel announced that Bulgaria is aiming for a date for the abolition of land border controls in 2024. However, the agreement itself did not set a specific date for this, nor did it opt for the simpler option: automatic acceptance without the need for a new vote in the Council.
So the same cumbersome procedure will be repeated for land borders, this time under Austria's new 5 conditions. They are not particularly worrying (among others - the intensified presence of Frontex in Bulgaria, EU support to protect borders, more border controls between Romania and Bulgaria and Romania and Hungary - however this could lead to serious economic burdens), but the last point of the agreement that refers to them is diplomatically particularly delicate. Under the heading "The way forward", it says: "There is a commitment to discuss a possible lifting of land controls in 2024, taking into account the successful implementation of additional measures leading to a substantial improvement of the migration situation in Austria." This is an extremely vague formulation that ties the opening of borders to an unclear "improvement" in the migrant situation in a third country, which also depends on already open borders with other countries such as Italy and Croatia.
A few days ago, the spokesperson for the Austrian Interior Minister told Capital weekly that there are currently no negotiations and therefore no date for Romania and Bulgaria to fully join the borderless Schengen area. The Austrian Chancellor also announced on the social network X that this will not be the case any time soon.
From 1 January, the Council Presidency will be taken over by Belgium, for which Schengen enlargement is not a priority, as it was for the Spanish. Austria is facing tough parliamentary elections in autumn in which Euroscepticism is also likely to prevail. Add to this the European elections in 2024 and the blockade of the institutions' work next year, and the item seems to have been pushed off the EU's agenda. Hungary will take over the presidency in the second half of 2024, while crucial EU top positions will be allocated.
From 1 April this year, Bulgarian and Romanian citizens will be able to enter freely (with no passport check) at any airport or port in the European Union. In theory, this should mean that one can travel by boat from Burgas to Italy or Spain as if you were traveling to Sunny Beach. However, if you are traveling by land from Romania to Hungary, you will still have to wait for a passport check at the border control.
This unorthodox decision was reached after Austria did everything to thwart the two countries' full membership of the Schengen area, even though all the established criteria were met years ago and this was officially confirmed several times by the European Commission.
