2023-12-27 21:55:41
According to the government in Bucharest, Romania, Bulgaria and Austria have reached a “political agreement” on Schengen expansion. As the Romanian Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday, gradual accession to Schengen is planned. Accordingly, Bulgaria and Romania would apply Schengen law at their air and sea borders from March 2024. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) made a corresponding offer at the beginning of December.
The agreement was reached on December 23rd between the interior ministries in Vienna, Sofia and Bucharest and was then discussed through diplomatic channels, at the level of foreign ministries and at EU representations so that it might be legally incorporated into decisions of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER). the Romanian Interior Ministry continued. Accordingly, negotiations on full Schengen membership should continue “at full speed” next year, taking into account Austria’s demands for increased external border protection and the Dublin III regulation.
In its broadcast, the Interior Department in Bucharest thanked both the European Commission and the Spanish EU Council Presidency as well as the Interior Ministries in Vienna and Sofia for the “constructive discussions” that ultimately made this agreement possible. A little later, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced in a Facebook post that his country’s authorities were determined to successfully conclude negotiations on full Schengen membership next year.
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