The EU Council of Interior Ministers met to discuss the Hungarian presidency’s proposal in Brussels to include Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Area, eliminating border controls with these two countries and making them part of the EU’s common visa zone.
The lack of controls on people and goods enables rapid movement of people, goods, services and capital between all other EU member states, and the Hungarian government believes that Romania and Bulgaria have fulfilled the criteria to become members.
Of the 27 EU member states, now only Cyprus and Ireland are not members of the zone – Cyprus intends to join in the future, while Ireland maintains its own visa system. Romania and Bulgaria had been partial members since this past spring when controls on air traffic and sea were abolished.
‼ DEAL! Interior ministers have just adopted a decision to lift internal land border controls with and between Bulgaria and Romania from 1 January 2025. A great victory for Bulgaria, Romania, and all of Europe!#HU24EU
🇭🇺🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/b2rVO45vZV
— Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 (@HU24EU) December 12, 2024Now, controls at land borders between Romania and Bulgaria, as well as all current members of the Schengen Area, will be eliminated from Jan. 1, 2025.
The adoption had been blocked by Austria, as it feared that abolishing border controls with the two countries would lead to tens of thousands of migrants arriving at the Austrian border via Hungary.
The Austrian government announced on Monday that it would lift its veto after receiving guarantees from the two states that they would take effective action against the migration threat. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner indicated that last year, as a result of Austrian demands, the number of migrants stopped near the Austrian-Hungarian border decreased; while 70,000 people were arrested until October last year, only 4,000 were arrested during the same period this year.
The decision is a crowning moment for the end of Hungary’s rotating presidency of the EU Council, and the Hungarian government expects the lifting of border controls to boost trade and economic relations with the two countries.
Furthermore, members of the Transylvanian Hungarian community can. now travel between Romania and Hungary without any obstacles.
