The Romanian government says an agreement has been made with Austria allowing Romania and Bulgaria to partially integrate into the Schengen area in March 2024.
Romania will eventually join Schengen after 13 years, according to Marcel Ciolacu, the prime minister of Romania. He also welcomed the partial agreement.
Meanwhile, Austria opposed expanding the passport-free Schengen zone to Romania and Bulgaria at a meeting of European Union interior ministers a year ago, saying illegal immigration was still too high and that the two countries needed to do more to prevent it before joining.
Austria has partially relented, proposing entry in stages, a solution Austrian Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner referred to as “Air Schengen.”
Despite being key hubs for the illegal arms trade, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, the European Commission reports that a comprehensive examination verified Romania and Bulgaria’s compliance with Schengen regulations.
Furthermore, Romania has stated that the opposition from Austria was unfounded, citing statistics from the EU border agency Frontex that indicates unlawful migrants were primarily entering the EU from the Western Balkans rather than Romania.
For many years, the conservative People’s Party in power in Austria has made opposing illegal immigration a major platform of its campaign. Ahead of the parliamentary election that is scheduled for next year, public polls favor the far-right Freedom Party, which takes a similar stance on immigration.
