Sweden – the country that presides over the Council of the European Union – will not initiate a vote on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen until an agreement is reached with the states that opposed the admission of the two states to the European space. of free movement, said the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the EU, Lars Danielsson, quoted by Novinite.

Lars Danielsson said the Swedish presidency of the EU Council would hold “intense consultations” on how to proceed.

• “This of course includes the two countries in question as well as countries that have indicated they have problems with the process.
• We also note that some of the reasons why a positive decision was not taken in December are not directly related to European issues or issues that are within the prerogatives of the presidency,” said the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the EU.

He said that bilateral consultations with the states involved had begun and at the moment he could not say when the issue of Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen could be put back on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council.

• “In our opinion, the sooner the better.
• But we see no point in putting it on the agenda until it is clear that there is a good chance of getting approval from the JAI Board.
• So we will try to do it during the Swedish presidency, but I cannot guarantee that it will happen. It depends primarily not on us, but on the parties involved,” said the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the EU, Lars Danielsson, Novinite reports.

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.

The chairmanship of the Council is ensured by rotation every six months among the EU member states. During this six-month period, the Presidency holds meetings at all levels in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU’s work within the Council.

We will remind you that Romania, which waited 11 years to join Schengen, did not join the European free movement zone, although it had the support of 26 EU countries. Austria managed to block Schengen accession at the JAI Council on December 8, a decision requiring unanimity. It was joined by the Netherlands on the condition that they oppose the accession of Bulgaria, and the vote was cast “together with Romania”. At the same time, Croatia received the green light to join Schengen from January 1, 2023.

The first meeting of the Council of the Ukrainian Federation under the chairmanship of Sweden in January

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.

According to some Romanian MEPs, this is the first opportunity this year for Romania to ask for a firm timetable for joining the Schengen area.

• “Official meetings of the Council are organized by the Council of the EU and chaired by the President of the Council.
• However, each chairmanship of the Council also organizes informal meetings of ministers to discuss initiatives related to a specific topic or specific formation of the Council,” the European Council notes.

The first official meeting of the Yuvs Council is scheduled for March 9-10 in Brussels.

“The possibility of questioning our access to the Schengen zone”

Member of the European Parliament Eugene Tomak says that the informal meeting will be an opportunity for the Romanian authorities to question Romania’s accession to Schengen:

• “On January 25, Mr. Bode was invited to Stockholm, for an informal meeting of the JAI Council, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union informs us, which convened this meeting.
• The visit is important, we do not yet have confirmation of the participation of the Minister of the Interior of Romania in the event in Sweden, but we are talking about the opportunity he will have, even in an informal format, to discuss the issue of our access to the Schengen area.
• It remains to be seen whether this time the dialogue, persistence and negotiation skills of the current government will be more successful than before.
• Therefore, all eyes are on Stockholm, where an informal meeting of the JAI Council will take place on January 25-27.”

And MEP Victor Negrescu says that 2023 could be the year of Romania’s accession to the Schengen zone, “if this topic is approached in a coordinated and professional manner”, he lists some key points of the European agenda at the beginning of the year:

• An informal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JAI) will take place in Sweden from 25 to 27 January. “It is imperative for Romania to use this moment to clear up its differences with Austria and request a clear accession schedule. He should also demand that Schengen enlargement be included in the agenda of the EU Council in March or June.”
• The European Council will be held on February 9-10. “It is important that the topic of Romania’s accession to the Schengen zone remains on the European agenda. Heads of state and government should consider this issue and clarify outstanding issues.
• Only if we approach the beginning of the year in a coordinated manner, we will have a real chance for our country to enter the Schengen zone at the end of the year.”

“I don’t want to think what will happen if it doesn’t happen”

European Parliament President Roberta Metzola, who was in Bucharest on December 20, reiterated that she would “fight” for Romania to be admitted to Schengen in 2023, saying she did not want to think “what will happen if it doesn’t happen “.

Romania belongs to the Schengen area and there is no reason to refuse its accession to Schengen, and the European Parliament will insist that this happens in 2023, the head of the European Parliament said at a press conference held together with Klaus Iohannis.

Roberta Metzola also proposed a deadline for Romania’s accession to the Schengen area: the first half of 2023:

• “I want to make sure that we succeed in 2023 because we have no alternative.
• European elections will be held in 2024. What will be our message to European citizens in Romania? Vote for the European Parliament, the home of democracy.
• My responsibility is to persuade, but also to provide. And I believe that it is time for Romania to join Schengen. Romania should join Schengen in the first half of 2023.”

In fact, President Klaus Iohannis also said in a press conference held together with Metsola that the topic of Romania’s accession to Schengen will be discussed at the first meeting of the JAI Council scheduled for March 2023.

Austria’s arguments against Romania’s accession to Schengen

After the JAI vote on 8 December, both Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner claimed that of the more than 100,000 immigrants or asylum seekers who arrived in Austria, 75,000 were not registered anywhere, and this must have happened when crossing Austria. external border of the EU. They claimed that many of the unregistered arrived via Romania or Bulgaria, contradicting the Romanian authorities.

• “Romania and Bulgaria have different indicators. These countries wouldn’t even know the real numbers if they didn’t register people,” Nehhammer explained of the discrepancy between the data on migrants provided by the Austrian government and the authorities in Bucharest and Sofia.

In an interview with a public TV channel, he emphasized that lifting the veto will be possible only when Romania and Bulgaria improve border protection.

When asked why Austria did not choose the usual path in the EU, namely to seek allies among other states and thus achieve change, Nehhammer replied that no other country has – in proportion to the number of its population – as much migratory pressure as Austria. The Netherlands also tried for a long time to find support in the Council of the EU, but without success, and “in other EU countries, the problem was simply perceived differently than in Austria.” Since the European Commission did not act, it was necessary to act “resolutely” and at the national level, the chancellor claimed.

“Austrian police investigated it”

And at the meeting of the European Council on December 15 in Brussels, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer continued to support the thesis that a large number of migrants will arrive in Austria without being registered in Romania.

Responding in Brussels to a question about Austria’s refusal to admit Romania to Schengen, Karl Nehammer repeated the thesis about the “huge” number of migrants who arrived in Austria this year – 100,000, of which 75,000 were not registered by other states through which they passed . :

• “Austria’s position is that we should support Bulgaria and Romania. This is not a problem of countries against other countries, it is a security problem.
• We have more than 75,000 unregistered people in Austria and we know that 20,000 illegal migrants are crossing Romania. We know this as a result of the investigation conducted by the Austrian police. Now we have to find a solution to this problem.”

To the journalist’s remark that these figures are denied by the Romanian authorities, the Chancellor of Austria replied:

• “But you know that the Romanian police have a record of these people who are registered in Romania.
• In Austria, we have registered more than 100,000 migrants, and 75,000 of them are not registered. This is a huge number.
• This is a security issue for the entire European Union.
• This is a problem, and it must be said that it is not about being against Austria, Bulgaria or Romania. We have to solve this security problem together, and I think we will.” (Photo: Dreamstime.com)