“Fabulous pressure.” The version of a land mini-Schengen Romania-Bulgaria-Greece, abolished by the European Commissioner for Transport

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The version of a land mini-Schengen, by lifting the controls at the land borders between Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, proposed by several MEPs, is abolished by the European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean. She declared, in Strasbourg, that such a measure would put “a fabulous pressure” on the border between Romania and Hungary. We remind you that Romania and Bulgaria are to be admitted to Schengen on March 31, but only with the airports and seaports, while at the land borders the controls will continue, because Austria continues to oppose.

SchengenFoto: Dreamstime

​​On January 25, four MEPs from Romania, Bulgaria and Greece asked the Greek Minister of Immigration to propose in the informal meeting of the JAI Council the lifting of control at the Schengen land border between the three countries. The joint letter was signed by Romanian MEPs Dacian Cioloș and Vlad Gheorghe, together with Greek MEP Georgios Kyrtsos and Bulgarian MEP Daniel Lorer.

The initiative came in the context in which Romania and Bulgaria received the green light only for the integration by air and sea in Schengen, from March 31, not having established a deadline for the accession by land.

“We have to think for the entire transport space”

The European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, said, on Tuesday, in Strasbourg, when asked by News.ro about this initiative, that she does not think that Romania should look for partial solutions.

• “I have repeatedly expressed, from the perspective of the Transport Commissioner, who sees first-hand what it means for the transport industry, implicitly for the economy of the member states, any blockage at the border: time lost in transport means money.
• This is the reason why I have always insisted on the fact that free movement within European borders is essential for the common transport market.
• It becomes all the more important for Romania and Bulgaria, which are also in this geopolitical context located in Eastern Europe – they receive transport from third countries – that they can ease their border with the EU space, not only towards Greece and only for Romanian tourists who could go on vacation.
• Here we have to think for the entire transport space.
• Let’s say that between Greece, Bulgaria and Romania there would be a free transport space. It would be a fabulous pressure on Romania’s Schengen border to the West, to Hungary.
• I don’t think that partial solutions are what we should pursue, but we must pursue the overall solution of this restriction”, said Adina Vălean, quoted by News.ro.

Partial integration from March 31

The EU Council announced at the end of December that Romania and Bulgaria will enter Schengen with air and sea borders on March 31, 2024.

The Bucharest authorities tried in the December negotiation offensive to introduce a concrete date for the lifting of land border controls, but they only obtained a promise of negotiation. In the year-end declaration, signed by the three countries, annexed to the EU Council’s communication, it is mentioned “the commitment to discuss in 2024 a date for a possible lifting of land border controls”. This, however, is conditional on 5 measures leading to “a significant improvement of the migratory situation in Austria”, additional measures that have not been applied in the case of any other country that has acceded to Schengen.

Everything still depends on Austria, decisions are taken unanimously. Incidentally, this is also indicated in the decision of the EU Council, published in the Official Journal of the Union: “The Council is making efforts to take a decision to eliminate controls on people at the internal land borders. The respective decision is adopted by the Council deciding unanimously, in accordance with Article 4 paragraph (2) of the Act of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania from 2005”.

What could be the probable date of the land integration, and the most important, of Romania in Schengen? As things stand at the moment, a decision will most likely be made at the end of this year, and the actual integration could be in 2025. This is due to the European electoral context this year and the fact that Austria is holding internal elections in the fall, as Vienna’s position is unlikely to change by then.

Austria still does not want Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen altogether

Austria does not yet want Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen altogether. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner argued at the end of 2023 that integration with airports and the navy was “a step forward” but “it would be wrong” at this point to give the green light to accession with land borders as well.

“It would be wrong at this stage. Land border controls are still required. It is not only about Romania and Bulgaria. The whole migration system is in disarray. I am not the one who gives grades to Romania and Bulgaria. I am committed to a functioning system at European level. And that will only be the case if the external border is protected. This is also an essential part of the new pact on asylum and migration that the EU has agreed and which we must now bring to life. Only then can there be full freedom of travel in the EU again,” Karner said in an interview with Die Presse. (Photo: Dreamstime.ro)

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