Salzburg Forum

In a bid to bolster border management and migration control, the European Commission (EC) has announced its decision to allocate 85 million euros to Bulgaria and Romania.

A recent Gallup International Balkan study revealed that Bulgarians generally welcome their country's partial entry into the Schengen zone, indicating that full entry would be seen as a significant success if the government effectively addresses concerns about migration.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Mariya Gabriel, expressed gratitude to the collective efforts that propelled Bulgaria into the Schengen agreement for air and sea borders. Highlighting Bulgaria's pivotal role in safeguarding the European Union's external boundaries, Gabriel emphasized the country's robust border control system, reinforcing EU security.

Romania and Bulgaria have reached an agreement with Austria to join the European Schengen area of free movement by sea and air in March 2024, the Romanian government said Wednesday.

"After 13 years, Romania is finally going to join Schengen! We have a political agreement on this," Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu wrote on Facebook.

Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov participated today in a tripartite meeting with the interior ministers of Austria and Romania - Gerhard Karner and Catalin Predoiu, at which he introduced them to Bulgaria's position for full Schengen membership, the Ministry of the Interior announced.

The European Commission has defined as a positive development Austria's proposal to eliminate border checks when traveling by air from Bulgaria and Romania. We are glad to see that things are moving in a positive direction, said a spokesman for the commission at a press conference in response to a question.

"Countries not yet admitted to Schengen should not have to pay for their membership by accepting more refugees".

The Austrian media reports that the Minister of the Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner, is ready to loosen the veto on the expansion of the Schengen area with Bulgaria and Romania.

Austria no longer has a problem with Romania, but still claims that the Schengen area needs to be reformed. As for Bulgaria, it continues the dialogue with the Netherlands and needs to make some urgent reforms in the judicial system. This was stated by the Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs, Catalin Predoiu, in an interview with B1 TV.

At its last meeting in Strasbourg before the summer vacation, the European Parliament will vote, at the beginning of July, on a new call for the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. This was decided today by the parliamentary committee on petitions, BTA reported.