The Netherlands has officially given the green light to the full admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, following a vote in the Dutch parliament on Wednesday that supported the government’s recent decision to this effect, reports the news website of the Bulgarian public television.
On Thursday, EU interior ministers are due to vote in Brussels on whether to fully admit Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area.
On Wednesday, the Freedom Party of extremist Geert Wilders, the largest party in the Dutch governing coalition, tried to introduce a parliamentary motion urging the government to vote against Bulgaria and Romania joining Schengen. However, this motion was rejected.
The other parties in the country’s governing coalition also voted against it.
On Wednesday evening, however, the Dutch press wrote that the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), the largest party in the governing coalition, made a last-ditch attempt to block such a decision tomorrow, and the responsible minister Marjolein Faber ignored a request from part of her party to continue using her veto. But Faber refused to do so, and the PVV received little support in Parliament, writes the ANP news agency.
If the decision on full Schengen membership for Romania and Bulgaria is approved by the JHA Council on Thursday, land border controls between and with Romania and Bulgaria will be lifted as of 1 January 2025. However, the two countries have committed to continuing random border checks for another six months, BNT notes.
On December 9 Austria announced on Monday that it is dropping its opposition to Romania and Bulgaria’s full accession to the Schengen area, after a long and harsh opposition.
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