The European Parliament voted for Romania’s accession to Schengen, asks a decision by year-end

In a resolution adopted on Tuesday, MEPs state that, by the end of 2022, the Council should take all the necessary measures to adopt the decision on the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen free-travel area. This should ensure the removal of controls on people at all internal borders for both member states in the first part of 2023. The resolution was adopted with 547 votes in favour, 49 against and 43 abstentions, Digi 24 reports.

MEPs convened in Strasbourg today to review the rules about temporary border controls within the Schengen area, following a judgment by the EU Court of Justice and to decide if Romania and Bulgaria are fit to join the free-movement area.

In April, the Court ruled that border controls due to serious threats can be installed for up to six months, and could only be prolonged if a new threat arises, unless there are exceptional circumstances that put the overall functioning of the Schengen area at risk.

MEPs called member states’ authorities to respect the current rules of the Schengen area of free movement, which, to many, is one of the main achievements of EU integration.

A majority of MEPs urged member states to recognise that Bulgaria and Romania fulfill the Schengen criteria, and should be admitted to the free-travel area as soon as possible. “Maintaining internal border controls is discriminatory and has a negative impact on the lives of mobile workers and citizens. Blocking imports, exports and the free movement of goods from ports also harms the EU’s single market,” MEPs argued.

Dutch MEPs abstained from voting or voted against

Among the MEPs who abstained from voting in favour of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s joining Schengen were the five MEPs from the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party.

The voting list published by the European Parliament shows that MEPs Malik Azmani, Bart Groothuis, Jan Huitema, Caroline Nagtegaal, Catharina Rinzema abstained from voting. They are part of the Renew group and are members of the Dutch ruling party Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD). Moreover, Dutch MEP Peter van Dalen voted against the resolution demanding Romania’s accession to Schengen. Van Dalen is a member of the ChristenUnie party, part of the governing coalition in the Netherlands alongside Mark Rutte’s party.

The German MEP Guido Reil (Identity and Democracy Group – ID, Eurosceptics) also voted against, who at the beginning of the month launched an attack on Romania, saying that it should not have been accepted into the EU.

The Netherlands’ opposition to Romania’s accession to Schengen is already notorious. While on a recent visit in Romania this month, Dutch PM Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands “is not against it as a general rule”, but that he cannot give us “a deadline”.