The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is convinced that Romania and Bulgaria will soon become full members of the Schengen zone, the Austrian press agency APA reports, Agerpres reports.

“You can count on us to further strengthen the borders and convince Austria that Romania and Bulgaria deserve a full Schengen stay,” the head of the European Commission said at a press conference after Thursday’s EU summit in Brussels.

“The European Commission has been convinced for several years that Romania and Bulgaria are ready for Schengen,” stressed Ursula von der Leyen.

In recent months, the EU has carried out several EU-funded border strengthening projects in Romania and Bulgaria, as well as fact-finding missions on the ground, which have convinced Austria to “take the first steps for air and sea Schengen”.

The head of the Commission also stated that the increased multi-year budget of the EU agreed on Thursday provides for additional resources for strengthening the borders.

EU countries in December approved the lifting of air and sea controls on the border with Bulgaria and Romania in March 2024.

Discussions on the abolition of land border controls continue, this topic will be among the priorities of the agenda of the upcoming meeting of EU interior ministers in early March, APA agency adds.

Austria still does not want Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen at all

Austria still does not want Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen at all. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in late 2023 that integration with airports and the navy was a “step forward” but that “it would be wrong” at this point to give the green light to land borders as well.

“It would be wrong at this stage. Land border control is still necessary. It is not only about Romania and Bulgaria. The entire migration system is in disarray. I’m not the one who scores Romania and Bulgaria. I am committed to the functioning of the system at the European level. And this will be only if the external border is protected. It is also an important part of the new pact on asylum and migration which the EU has agreed and which we must now implement. Only then can there be full freedom of movement in the EU again,” Karner said in an interview with Die Presse.

Partial integration from March 31

At the end of December, the EU Council announced that Romania and Bulgaria will join Schengen with an air and sea border on March 31, 2024.

The authorities in Bucharest tried during the December negotiation offensive to introduce a specific date for the abolition of land border controls, but all they got was the promise of negotiations. The year-end declaration signed by the three countries, attached to the EU Council’s communication, mentions a “commitment to discuss in 2024 a date for the possible abolition of land border controls”. However, this is subject to 5 measures leading to a “significant improvement in the migration situation in Austria”, additional measures that have not been applied in the case of any other Schengen acceding country.

Still depends on Austria, decisions are taken unanimously. Actually, this is also stated in the decision of the Council of the EU, published in the Official Journal of the Union: “The Council is making efforts to decide on the abolition of controls on people at the internal land borders. The relevant decision is taken by the Council unanimously in accordance with paragraph (2) of Article 4 of the Act of Accession of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania from 2005.”

What can be the probable date of land integration, and most importantly, of Romania in Schengen? At this point, the decision is most likely to be made by the end of this year, and the actual integration could happen in 2025. This is due to the European electoral context this year and the fact that Austria is holding internal elections in the fall, as Vienna’s position is unlikely to change by then.