Bulgaria and Romania will be in Schengen by air and water from March 2024. The EU Council’s decision was announced late last night.
We will remember this Spanish rotating presidency. It seemed like the last chance for us for quite some time to take the decisive step – by air and water, but in Schengen. It is no secret that the next rotating presidents, Belgium from tomorrow, and then Hungary, would not have our entry into Schengen as a priority. The decision to lift land controls will be made later.
Here are the first reactions last night of the European leaders:
“Today, Bulgaria and Romania should be proud. The decision to abolish internal border checks by air and sea is a big step forward for them and for the Schengen area,” commented Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
“A long-awaited step for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to enjoy greater freedom of movement with the prospect of land transport,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
No official source from Brussels has confirmed whether we will have to convince all parties to drop ground control. And this is important, because in some of them internal political changes are coming, which may turn out to be more unfavorable to us in the future.
Who with the countries members on Schengen space, for who waste the control by the internal ones aerial and sea borders from March?
These are 23 of the 27 member states of the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Today, the Schengen area covers over 4 million square kilometers with a population of almost 420 million people.
What will change in practice for air and water travel – Drop checks and queues for us inside Schengen.
What were the reactions to the news in Romania?
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that after 13 years of failures and humiliations, the process is now irreversible. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis stated that this step is in favor of Romanian citizens, which strengthens Romania’s position among member countries.
Political statements aside, people in Romania are eagerly waiting for full membership to be completed, which means a date for the lifting of checks at internal land borders as well.
The reactions were collected by the reporter of PRO TV – Laura Kulica.
2023-12-31 17:06:07
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