18/06/2021 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 18 June, the Commission adopted a decision stipulating that as of July 2021, Bulgaria and Romania will receive read-only access to the Visa Information System, the database that links together border guards at the EU’s external borders with Member States’ consulates across the world. Read-only access means that these two countries will only be able to access information that already exists, and they will not be able to add new information. They will be able to consult the visa history of applicants and check the validity and authenticity of Schengen visas that have been issued by other Member States. Bulgaria and Romania will also need read access to the Visa Information System in order to operate the entry/exit system, which is expected to come into operation in the first half of 2022. Full access will then be granted once Bulgaria and Romania have joined Schengen. Link to the decision: https://bit.ly/3xvJXxZ (SP)