On the same day that the Council of the European Union gave the ‘green light’ for Croatia’s entry into the Schengen Area, from next January 1, Bulgaria and Romania, two countries that have been waiting more than a decade for approval, 27 countries. , again failing to obtain the necessary unanimity in the Council today, with Vienna using its veto power to enter both countries, the Netherlands and Bulgaria.
The decisions were made today at a meeting of EU Home Affairs Ministers, in Brussels, where the European Commission lamented that despite repeatedly defending that Bulgaria and Romania meet all requirements to join the free movement zone, their entry is still prohibited.
“Today is a great day for the citizens of Croatia, welcome to Schengen. To the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania, I say this: they deserve to be an integral part of Schengen. I will support every step taken towards this goal during my tenure,” said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. “.
With today’s “green light” received, Croatia, a country of nearly 3.5 million people, will no longer have internal borders with other Schengen states, becoming the 27th member of the free movement area.
Sofia and Bucharest saw their membership banned in 2011, then by the Netherlands and Finland, and have been waiting for the “green light” for more than a decade, despite repeated positive opinions from the European Commission and European Parliament.
Last month, shortly after the Commission issued its latest recommendations to open the Schengen area to Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Austria, a European destination and transit point for migrants entering Europe via the so-called Balkan route, the opposition declared, deeming the Schengen extension “inappropriate”.
The Schengen area allows free movement of citizens in that area without the need for a passport and controls are abolished, although temporary exceptions are expected.
Currently, 26 countries, representing 420 million inhabitants, are part of this region, of which 22 are EU member states – including Portugal – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Once Croatia’s entry is complete, in a few weeks, in addition to Romania and Bulgaria, the only EU member states that are not part of the Schengen area are Ireland and Cyprus.
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