Romania Could Join Schengen Zone With Land Borders in March 2025, Romanian PM Says

The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, has said that full Schengen membership, in terms of land borders, could come in March 2025.

Romania partially entered the Schengen Zone by air and sea on March 31, 2024, but land border controls are still kept in place Schengen.News reports.

The Romanian PM’s comments came ahead of today’s government meeting.

Informal Decision Could Be Reached Before December 8
On November 24, 2024, presidential elections will be held in Romania. If no candidate receives a second vote, a second round of elections will be held on December 8, 2024.

Ahead of the presidential elections, the Prime Minister of Romania said that a decision regarding land border accession could be taken before the second round of the presidential elections on December 8.

Ciolacu said that the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (COREPER) meeting in the Justice and Home Affairs Council on December 13 will take a decision on the full accession of Romania to the Schengen Zone based on the vote of the COREPER.

If a positive decision is taken, land border controls will be abolished by spring 2025.

The progress of Romania on the full application of the Schengen acquis was also reported by the holder of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Hungary, at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting held on October 10, 2024. However, no vote was part of the agenda.

Besides, the Prime Minister of Hungary, Victor Orban, last month called for the full accession of Romania to the Schengen Zone by the end of this year.

Romanian PM Believes Full Schengen Membership to Be Acquired This Year
The Prime Minister of Romania has continuously expressed his belief that the membership of Romania, in terms of land borders, will be finalised by the end of this year.

Last month, expressing his hopes that the abolishment of border controls would happen shortly, Ciolacu told local media that he had additional information permitting him to make such statements.

He said that a good dialogue is on the way with Austria, the country that does not support the land border accession of Romania to the Schengen Zone.

Austria has blocked the membership of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Zone for years now, citing irregular migration concerns.

In spite of the fact that both countries have met all the needed conditions to become full members of the block, last month, Austria’s Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, said that the time for these countries to join Schengen concerning land borders has not yet arrived.

Source: https://schengen.news/romania-could-join-schengen-zone-with-land-borders-in-march-2025-romanian-pm-says/