On Thursday 1 December, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU was still unable to achieve unanimity among the Member States on the access of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to the Schengen area.
It will ask them to consider the issue again on 7 December, just before the meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels on 8 December. The Czech Presidency intends to pursue its ‘package’ approach for these three countries, i.e. to push for a positive decision for all three countries at the same time, but it is not certain that it will succeed in doing so, as some countries, such as the Netherlands, are arguing for a merit-based and therefore case-by-case approach.
In any case, the Presidency drafted two proposals for decisions, one on Bulgaria and Romania, which followed the same path, and the other on Croatia. The fate of Bulgaria and Romania is therefore linked at this stage.
During the discussion on Thursday, several Member States - not only the Dutch - expressed reservations both in relation to their parliaments and on the substance.
Thus, while Denmark and Sweden still have parliamentary reservations, Austria, along with the Netherlands, has expressed substantive reservations in addition to parliamentary reservations, according to one source. However, Denmark and Sweden reportedly indicated that these reservations could be lifted by the meeting on 8 December.
These reservations are thought mainly to concern Bulgaria, but, according to another source, unanimity has not yet been reached for Croatia either.
Austria had recently taken a position against the entry of the three countries into the Schengen area due to the high secondary migration movements already observed in the free movement area, but had recently revised its position on Croatia, being now more favourable. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)