Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson once again confirms the position of the European Commission regarding the need for the rapid accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone.

In the recently adopted Schengen Situation Report 2023, the Commission presented important policy milestones achieved in 2022, including voluntary fact-finding missions to Bulgaria and Romania in October-November 2022, as well as follow-up activities.

The report confirms the Commission’s clear and consistent position that the two countries continue to meet the necessary conditions for the full application of all relevant parts of the Schengen acquis.

“At the last meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on June 8-9, the Commission again asked the Council to take the necessary measures for Bulgaria and Romania to become an integral part of the Schengen area without internal border controls, stressing that it is necessary to make the Schengen area stronger and more prosperous thanks to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria,” says Ylva Johansson.

The Commissioner states with regard to the Schengen Council that it has agreed to make the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area one of the key priorities for the second Schengen round.

“The Commission is currently working closely with the President of the Council so that it can take a positive decision as soon as possible this year. In a presidential document dated May 26, 2023, the Swedish presidency emphasized that the discussion on the full application of the Schengen acquis by Bulgaria and Romania should continue as a matter of priority,” says Ylva Johansson.

The accession of Bulgaria and Romania is also a priority for the Spanish presidency, which is keen to conclude the negotiations quickly.

MEP Eugen Tomac brought a case to the CJEU against the Council of the European Union and demanded that the December 8 vote be declared illegal because it violated the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU and the Treaty of Accession of Romania to the European Union.

In this context, Tomak asked the European Commission to present its point of view on this case, opened for the first time in European justice against the Council of the European Union.

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