EU Council delays decision on lifting Schengen land border controls for Romania, Bulgaria

Setting the date for the lifting of controls at the Schengen internal land borders with Bulgaria and Romania will require a new decision of the Council, says the official statement after Thursday’s meeting of EU interior ministers. The next meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council will take place on December 12-13.

The official communique released after the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) meeting on Thursday dryly states that Romania and Bulgaria have presented the measures they have put in place to protect their borders and states that the lifting of land border controls will require another decision of the Council – without providing a date or the positive signals expected by Romanian officials.

Austria’s Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, had already signaled before the meeting that Vienna still opposes the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen.

“The presidency presented a report on the state of full implementation of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania. On 30 December 2023, the Council decided to lift air and sea border controls with Bulgaria and Romania. Establishing the date for the lifting of controls at the internal land borders with Bulgaria and Romania will require a new Council decision. Bulgaria and Romania presented the measures they have implemented since the December Council decision to protect their external borders and to combat illegal migration,” states the official statement.

The press release also includes the position of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council, which supports the accession of the two countries. “Strengthening the security of our external borders is of paramount importance to the Hungarian presidency. We remain committed to ensuring the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area as soon as possible,” said Sándor Pintér, the Hungarian Minister of Internal Affairs.

“Ministers focused on increasing the resilience of the EU’s external borders and in particular improving the quality of border controls and improving cooperation with third countries. Many delegations stressed the importance of providing adequate resources for the protection of external borders and ensuring the full use of EU information systems. The ministers also emphasized the role of Frontex in supporting the member states and the third countries with which it has signed agreements”, Brussels concludes.