Welcome
World
Europe
European Union
The 27 EU member states unanimously agreed to lift controls at the air and sea borders of these two countries within the EU from March 31.
Published on December 31, 2023 07:39
Reading time: 1 min
A Bulgarian police officer controls the secure border between Bulgaria and Turkey near the village of Kapitan Andreevo on October 10, 2023. (NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV / AFP)
New hurdles are emerging in Eastern Europe. Bulgaria and Romania will partially integrate the Schengen area of freedom of movement into the European Union, as the 27 announced on the night of Saturday December 30 to Sunday December 31. According to a press release from the Council of the EU, the institution that represents member states, the 27 EU member states have unanimously agreed to lift controls at the air and sea borders of these two countries within the EU from March 31.
The date of March 31 was chosen because it corresponds to the transition from winter schedules to summer schedules planned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), this text says. The 27 must make a new decision to choose the date for lifting controls at the land borders of the two countries within the EU, the press release said.
“A historic moment”
For its part, the European Commission welcomed this decision, which came after no less than twelve years of negotiations. “Today is a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania and a day of great pride for Bulgarian and Romanian citizens,” welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a press release. The Schengen area, created in 1985, includes 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as its neighbors Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
The Commission recalled that since 2011 it had considered that these two countries were ready to join the Schengen area. Vienna had vetoed it last year to protest against too many illegal immigrants on its territory, then agreed to override it in exchange for guarantees. Sofia and Bucharest agreed to take stronger action against illegal immigration in a joint declaration signed with Vienna on Saturday. The two countries also commit to fully applying European law, which requires asylum applications to be processed in the migrant's country of arrival.
View comments
France Télévisions collects your email address in order to send you the “La Quotidienne Monde” newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the end of this newsletter. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.