The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) will vote on Thursday on lifting internal border controls for individuals between Romania and Bulgaria and with other Schengen countries starting January 1, 2025, an EU official confirmed to AGERPRES on Tuesday.
Currently, the JHA Council’s agenda for December 9 includes the item: “Council Decision establishing the date for the removal of controls on persons at the internal land borders with Bulgaria and Romania and between them,” based on Article 4(2) of the 2005 Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
However, the issue of Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession may also be addressed during Wednesday morning’s meeting of COREPER II (Committee of Permanent Representatives), though significant changes are unlikely given recent developments.
Austria announced on Monday evening that it would no longer use its veto to block Romania and Bulgaria’s full accession to the Schengen area. This was confirmed by Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.
“We can move to the next step at the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council,” stated Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, as quoted in a statement from his ministry. “After ‘Air Schengen,’ ‘Land Schengen’ is now open for Romania and Bulgaria,” Karner added.
The only point of uncertainty concerns the provision to maintain border controls at the land borders between Hungary and Romania and between Romania and Bulgaria for at least six months. This would be implemented under Articles 25a(4) and (5) of the Schengen Borders Code to mitigate potential shifts in migration patterns that might result from the removal of land border controls and to prevent any serious threat to public order or internal security, as mentioned in the Joint Declaration of Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, and Hungary issued in Budapest on November 22.
When asked about this, the EU official speaking to AGERPRES stated that “the possible introduction of internal border controls by Bulgaria and Romania is a national decision.”
It is likely that the decision on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area with land borders will be accompanied by a joint declaration from the two countries and Austria, similar to the December 30, 2023 decision regarding the elimination of air and sea border controls. That declaration referred to “continuing joint efforts to combat illegal migration.”
Karner also stated on Monday evening that Austria’s vote against Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession in December 2022 and its insistence on combating illegal migration had led to a reduction in the number of migrants intercepted near Austria’s border with Hungary, which is the most common entry route.
“Without this veto, this significant reduction in illegal border crossings would not have occurred,” he said, noting 70,000 interceptions by October last year compared to 4,000 during the same period this year.
Romania and Bulgaria have already fully applied Schengen rules since March 31, 2024, when air and sea internal border controls were lifted, based on the Council decision of December 30, 2023.