The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of The EU will put the issue of abolishing checks at the Schengen land borders of Bulgaria and Romania on the agenda of the European interior ministers in December. This was announced at a press conference by Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pinter after today's meeting of his colleagues in Luxembourg. I hope for a positive decision, he added, quoted by BTA.
The minister pointed out that Bulgaria and Romania presented today the progress achieved after the abolition of checks at the sea and air Schengen borders from this spring. According to him, there was no discussion on this issue today and a report is yet to be prepared, which will become the basis for a future decision by the ministers.
It is obvious to us that the data presented by the Bulgarian and Romanian ministers will answer all the questions that Austria may have, he said regarding the still lack of agreement from Vienna to drop the veto imposed in December.
At the end of last year, Austria was the only EU country that did not support the complete abolition of Schengen checks for Bulgaria and Romania.
I don't make predictions and I don't make promises, but I believe there is a big step forward, added Pinter.
Bulgaria and Romania fully apply the Schengen legislation, noted the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ilva Johansson. Land borders remain to be decided. Both countries are in Schengen, I expect the next decision of the EU Council very soon, she said. I am in contact with Austria, so I am very optimistic, said Johansson, who reiterated her hope that a decision would be made by the end of her mandate (December). Bulgaria and Romania apply the Schengen legislation perfectly, fulfill all conditions and even more. A very good job has been done, Johansson summed up.
One of the priorities is strengthening the EU's external borders, Pinter pointed out. The minister noted that the EU Council was informed at today's meeting of the European Commission's report on the state of Schengen. According to him, the data show that Schengen is under strong migratory pressure.
According to EU Commissioner Johansson, the number of migrants arriving illegally in the EU decreased by 40 percent since the beginning of the year, and the number of returns increased by 18 percent. However, the number of asylum applications is not decreasing, which means that most of the migrants come with visas or from visa-free countries, she explained.