Austria lifts its veto on full Schengen membership of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen area of free movement, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior announced today, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
This will enable this step to be approved by European Union interior ministers at their meeting on Thursday, the agency noted.
Romania and Bulgaria, which are members of the EU and NATO, partially joined Schengen in March after an agreement with Austria, which initially opposed their joining, arguing that both countries should do more to prevent illegal immigration.< /p>
While checks on the air and sea borders between them and the other 27 countries in the Schengen area were abolished, negotiations with Austria to lift them by land also continued.
"We can take the next step in the EU Council (Justice and Home Affairs)", Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a statement released by the ministry.
After "air Schengen" ``Schengen by land'' is now open to Romania and Bulgaria, Karner said, noting that Austria's demands to tackle illegal immigration have led to a reduction in the number of migrants caught near Austria's border with Hungary - most often the route used to enter his country.
"Without this veto, this significant reduction in illegal border crossings would not have been achieved" he added, specifying that from the beginning of 2023 by October of that year, 70,000 arrests had been made, compared to 4,000 in the same period this year.