The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, has said his country will become part of the Schengen Area through land borders this year.
Ciolacu told local media he has additional information permitting him to make such declarations, Schengen.News reports.
Last week, the Interior Minister of Romania, Cătălin Predoiu, said Bucharest is fighting tooth and nail to become the newest member of the Schengen Zone by the end of this year in terms of land borders.
Minister Predoiu said that over the past year, he hasn’t come across any criticism related to the country’s efforts in border management.
Irregular Migration Concerns Impeding Romania’s Land Border Accession to Schengen
Irregular border concerns, cited by Austria, have kept Romania outside the Schengen Zone up to this point.
Ahead of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting, held on October 10, the Minister of the Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner, said the time for full accession of Romania to the Schengen Zone has yet not arrived.
From March 31, 2024, Romania and Bulgaria became part of the Schengen Zone, by air and sea, following an agreement reached with Austria in December 2023. However, land border controls are still effective.
On October 10, 2024, Hungary, as the holder of the presidency of the Council of the European Union, reported on the progress made by Romania and Bulgaria on the full application of the Schengen acquis at the Council meeting held in Luxembourg.
However, during the JHA meeting, no vote was part of the agenda. In order to set a specific date for the lifting of controls at the country’s land borders, a further decision by the European Council is needed.
Earlier this month, The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, proposed that Romania and Bulgaria enter the Schengen Zone through land borders by the end of this year.
Related to concerns over irregular migration to Romania and Bulgaria, and in all European countries, the Hungarian PM said the EU policy on migration has failed.
The Foreign Minister of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, previously said that his country is doing everything possible to ensure full membership of these two Balkan countries in the Schengen Zone.
Source: https://schengen.news/romania-will-acquire-full-schengen-membership-this-year-its-pm-says/
