Foreign Minister Bohdan Aurescu said on Monday, before this year’s first meeting of EU member states’ foreign ministers, that although it is not on the agenda, he will raise the issue of Romania’s accession to Schengen. Also on Monday, the constable of Austria, who blocked our country’s entry into Schengen, is in Bulgaria to check the border with Turkey. Before his visit to Bulgaria, Karl Nehhammer sent a strong message: “As long as the Schengen area does not work, Austria maintains its veto against its expansion.”

On Monday in Brussels, Aurescu is participating in the meeting of foreign ministers of the EU member states – the Council of Foreign Affairs (CAE), – the main topic of which is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba via video conference.

In Brussels, before the meeting, Aurescu announced that he would raise the issue of Romania’s accession to Schengen:

• “I will take the opportunity, even if this topic is not on the agenda of the Council of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the issue of Romania’s accession to Schengen.
• We will continue to work on this topic, because it is very important to keep this topic in the center of attention of European partners.”

Chancellor of Austria and Minister of Internal Affairs in Bulgaria, where he inspects the border with Turkey

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner are in Bulgaria on Monday, from where they are heading to the Turkish border with President Rumen Radev and Interior Minister Ivan Demergiev. The two Austrian officials also planned a visit to the border police’s regional coordination center near Elhovo, and after returning to Sofia, a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Galab Donev.

Before leaving for Bulgaria to inspect the borders, the Austrian chancellor wanted to convey that Austria maintains its veto on the expansion of the Schengen zone until it “does not work”.

• “As long as the Schengen zone does not work and, for example, Germany carries out border controls with other Schengen countries such as Austria, like many other European states, we cannot expand this zone.
• Austria’s veto therefore remains in place until the situation fundamentally changes,” Chancellor Karl Nehhammer said on Saturday, according to a statement cited by Austria’s APA news agency.

Nehammer calls for “full support of Bulgaria and Romania in strengthening protection of the external border”

Before his visit to Bulgaria, Nehammer asked for “full support of Bulgaria and Romania and concrete measures from the European Commission to strengthen the protection of the external border.”

• “Bulgaria should be able to build border protection as reliably as Greece. For this, the necessary funds must be allocated from the EU budget.
• We must put even more pressure on the brakes on granting asylum, not only in Austria, but throughout Europe,” said the head of government from Vienna.

Austria’s chancellor and his interior minister say Bulgaria has been left to defend its roughly 150-mile (240 km) EU external border with Turkey and point to videos posted on social media showing how easily Bulgaria’s current border barriers are breached.

So far, the European Commission refuses to provide funds for walls, fences and barbed wire, wanting only to support border infrastructure. In December, the Commission said that Bulgaria is free to decide what means it will use to protect its borders. Currently, the European agency Frontex is represented in Bulgaria with equipment and 137 employees, APA notes.

“Many procedures simply do not work”

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also announced on Saturday that at a meeting with his European Union counterparts next week, he and his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Nouris “will press for the EU to implement effective measures such as coordinated border protection to combat smuggling and illegal trade”. migration,” wrote the Austrian press.

• What Vienna will demand at this year’s first JAI meeting / Austria tries to create common front with Cyprus, which wants Romania in Schengen

After talks with Carner, the Cypriot Interior Minister announced in an interview with “Die Presse” that next week at the JAI’s informal council he will present an initiative to reorganize the asylum system. Carner assured him of his support in this regard.

• “We will put forward a proposal together: instead of spending billions of euros to house all the migrants, we should invest in third countries so that these people stay there.
• Europe is facing a migration crisis. Many procedures simply do not work. We need to get to the root of the problem.
• Europe should act in third countries, in Africa and Asia, where illegal migrants mainly come from. For three years we have been discussing a new pact on asylum and migration in the EU, and we are clearly blocked,” said the Cypriot interior minister, according to News.ro.

Romania, which waited 11 years to join Schengen, did not join the European free movement zone, although it had the support of 26 EU member states. Austria managed to block a favorable decision in the Council of the CIS, since unanimity is required to join Schengen. It was joined by the Netherlands, on the condition that they oppose the accession of Bulgaria, and the vote was cast “together with Romania”.

The first meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council under the presidency of Sweden in the Council of the European Union will take place on January 25-27 and will be informal. The European Council will be held on February 9-10, and the first official meeting of the Council of the South-Eastern Europe is scheduled for March 9-10 in Brussels.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the European Parliament plenary last week that he understands the frustrations of Romania and Bulgaria, which he believes are justified, and which he wants to put on the agenda of the EU. Council on the issue of the extension of the Schengen area.

From January 1 to June 30, 2023, Sweden holds the presidency of the Council of the EU. This is followed by Spain – July-December 2023, Belgium – January-June 2024 and Hungary – July-December 2024.