Romania’s problems did not end in the Netherlands and Sweden. Austria is the latest in a group of countries to oppose the Schengen integration of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia, a decision due in early December.

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner says his country will not agree to the three-nation expansion because “the system is not working.”

“Now is the wrong time to vote for enlargement when the external border system is not working. (…) If the system doesn’t work, it can’t be made even bigger,” he said on Ö1’s “Mittagsjournal” show, as quoted by Der Standard and Kurier.at.

The reason for this positioning is the flow of illegal immigrants. According to Karner, more than 90,000 migrants have already been detained in Austria this year, of which 75,000 were not registered in any other EU country.

In January, Bode thanked Karner for Austria’s support for Romania’s integration into the Schengen zone

In January of this year, the Minister of the Interior of Austria paid a visit to Romania, during which he met with his colleague Lucian Bode, with whom he discussed Schengen issues.

“In this context, thanks were expressed to the Austrian side for the continuous support provided to Romania in the Schengen accession process, which was confirmed also during this meeting,” the press release of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said. since.

Western Balkan route

The main migration route to the EU is the Western Balkans route through Turkey, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia, according to data from the border agency Frontex in September, which recorded a 141% increase in the number of cases detected in August, to 15,900.

“We have agreed to use more police officers (…) on the border with North Macedonia,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a press conference after signing a memorandum of cooperation with Hungarian and Austrian leaders Viktor Orban and Karl Nehammer. said Hungary had prevented 250,000 illegal crossings this year, many of them organized by armed traffickers. He also called the situation on the border with Serbia “difficult”.

“Illegal migration cannot be managed, it must be stopped,” Orbán said. Nehhammer said Austria would deploy 100 police officers to help their Serbian counterparts patrol the border with North Macedonia. “There will be technical support, such as thermal imagers, drones and vehicles,” he added, speaking through a translator.

The Netherlands and Sweden also have large reserves

On December 8, the EU Council should vote for the integration of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia into Schengen. The decision was taken unanimously.

So far, the Netherlands has serious reservations, and a committee of the Swedish parliament has rejected an offer to support the candidacy of the three countries made by the government in Stockholm.

• How Sweden can contribute to Romania’s accession to Schengen. The chance that Bucharest still has after the signal vote in the Stockholm Parliament

• The match between Romania and the Netherlands is currently being played on the Schengen field. What is actually hidden behind the official statements and caution of Prime Minister Rutte

European Commission: “Time to welcome Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia”

This week, the European Commission decided to expand the Schengen area without controls to Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. “It is time to welcome them,” European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said in Brussels on Wednesday.

Brussels authorities have asked EU countries to allow these three member states to “participate fully” in the Schengen zone. The vote will take place on December 8 in Brussels and requires unanimity.

What is the Schengen area?

The Schengen area, a borderless travel area, covers 26 EU countries and beyond.

The Schengen area includes most EU countries, with the exception of Ireland, which retains the option to remain outside the area and has its own common travel area with the United Kingdom, as well as Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania. Four non-EU countries – Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein – have also joined the Schengen area, according to a European Parliament briefing.

Despite the fact that Bulgaria and Romania meet the necessary criteria for full membership, the Schengen area has not been extended to these two countries, as EU national governments must unanimously decide on the entry of new states into the border-free zone.

During the vote on October 18, 2022, MEPs reiterated their request for the two countries to join the Schengen area as soon as possible, stressing that freedom of movement is at the heart of the EU project, the European Parliament reports.

On November 10, 2022, the parliament agreed to Croatia’s application to join the Schengen area by the end of 2022.

More than 1.25 billion trips take place in the Schengen area every year. Internal border controls in this zone were abolished, but states retained the right to temporarily restore controls in the event of serious threats to public order or internal security.

Since 2015, following the migration crisis, as well as the growth of cross-border terrorist threats, several Schengen countries have reintroduced such controls and even extended them several times. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many EU countries to reintroduce border controls to prevent the spread of the virus.