On Wednesday 27 November, the Member States finalised “the preparation of the Council Decision to lift internal land border checks with Bulgaria and Romania starting on 1 January 2025”, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU announced on X.
This decision was made possible by the lifting of Austria’s veto on Friday 22 November in Budapest (see EUROPE 13530/10), following the adoption of a joint plan to secure the external borders between the three countries.
The agreement of 22 November also provides for the introduction of temporary controls at the internal borders of these two countries and between Hungary and Romania, in order to prevent a possible increase in migratory flows.
This decision on accession on 1 January 2025 will be submitted for approval to the EU home affairs ministers meeting in Brussels on 12 December.
On Tuesday 26 November in Strasbourg, the vast majority of MEPs had already welcomed the EU Council’s imminent decision to fully integrate Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area.
Ylva Johansson, the outgoing Commissioner for Home Affairs, who was speaking for the last time at the plenary session, said that this was a real success and very good news for the citizens of both countries. “We have worked very hard together, in a climate of trust” with these two countries, she told the elected representatives.
“The last two years have been pivotal for the Schengen area, with the entry of Croatia in 2023” and the partial entry of the two countries in March this year, which has “changed the lives” of 12 million passengers who were able to travel without checks.
In the Chamber, the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and The Left groups also welcomed this outcome, which will strengthen the EU’s external borders and also boost European competitiveness by ending costly land controls, Bulgarian socialist Kristian Vigenin commented.
His colleague Lena Düpont (EPP, Germany) pointed out that while we must open our arms to these two countries, we must also continue to strengthen the entire Schengen area, in particular through a new strategy to combat crime or through the development of the capacities of EU or national agencies.
The PfE group, speaking through Fabrice Leggeri (French), nevertheless criticised this decision, which it says constitutes “a new migratory bomb” at the EU’s external borders, which will “not be ready” if the Commission “continues its headlong rush”.
The former head of Frontex called on Europeans to anticipate new migratory flows towards Western Europe via these two countries, and argued in favour of reinforcing the borders between Greece and Turkey and between Bulgaria and Turkey, including by “financing walls”.
The ESN group also said it feared new migratory flows towards the west of the EU. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)