After a good decade and a lot of political and technical negotiation Romania and Bulgaria finally fully joined the Schengen Area, the legal and technical framework enabling free movement of people and having a standardized visa policy. The accession has been well-timed not only by the decision-makers, but also history itself.
Romania and Bulgaria signed the Schengen Agreement in 2005, 2007 saw their accession to the European Union, and were deemed ready to join the Schengen Area by the European Commission in 2011. On December 12, 2024, they finally became full members of the bloc, starting January 1, 2025.
Opposition Gradually Dropped to One
The joint candidacy was opposed a decade ago by a number of nations, including France and Germany. The political resistance gradually subsided over time, leaving the Netherlands and Austria as the final obstacles in the lengthy journey.
These obstacles were increasingly a political matter rather than a technical one. At first, the reasons cited were inadequate rule of law, inadequate migration control, and a lack of progress in the fight against organized crime and corruption.Regardless of governmental shifts over the years, both nations have prioritized Schengen accession.
The most important issue for Austria was migration. Gerhard Karner, the interior minister since 2021, said the Schengen system is ineffective overall. He cited the high volume of unauthorized crossings at the EU’s external borders (more than 230,000 in 2023) as the reason Bulgaria and Romania were unable to rely on its assistance. Sofia claimed that only 2% of those involved travel through Bulgaria to reach Austria and other EU nations.
Furthermore, despite allegations of repeated violations of EU and international human rights by Croatian authorities, Vienna did not prevent Croatia from joining Schengen in 2022.
A significant argument for the Austrian government granting way eventually, was that the lack of free movement with Bulgaria and Romania caused significant losses for Austrian businesses.
The End of a Long and Winding Road? Not Quite…
Earlier this year, checks at sea and air borders were removed.”Fully in Schengen – where you belong,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. According to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, “a stronger Schengen signifies a safer and more united Europe.”
However, there is a crucial disclaimer attached to the accession that will somehow dampen the festivities.
In order to “avoid any serious threat to public policy and internal security,” the Budapest agreement calls for the establishment of checks at the land borders between Romania and Bulgaria as well as between Hungary and Romania for “at least” six months. The phrase “at least” suggests that they might be expanded upon later.
Vienna had repeatedly used its concerns about irregular migration to block the twin bid, and the concession was intended to allay those worries. This implies that the significant accomplishment of Thursday’s approval—the permanent elimination of passport checks at land borders—will not be fully realized, and international travelers will still have to deal with some lines and delays.
Throughout the bloc, the use of border controls to stop migration flows has grown in popularity. Despite the measure’s debatable efficacy, countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands have used it in recent months.
What This Means For Irregular Migration
The land borders mentioned above were introduced because both Romania and Bulgaria are on the so-called Eastern Mediterranean migratory route, one of the top three entry points for illegal migrants to the European Union.
As per reporting by FRONTEX, the EU’s external border guard agency, in 2023, there were about 60,000 detections of migrants illegally entering, marking the second year in a row that crossings clearly increased following the pandemic low. The most frequently reported nationalities were Palestinians, Syrians, and Afghans who had left Palestine prior to October 7, 2023. Vessel arrivals from Syria, Libya, and Lebanon were recorded in higher numbers.
The end of the Assad regime (and thus, the civil war in Syria) contributes clearly to the alleviation of future pressure on the newly-expanded external borders of the EU and could definitely bring down attempts to cross over illegally, especially now, that Germany, one of the most important destinations, has already announced the suspension of asylum requests.
