One of the greatest advantages of the EU is the ability to travel freely within the community. The basis for this freedom of travel is the so-called Schengen Agreement, which currently involves 23 out of 27 EU countries and also some non-EU countries. Not every EU member is automatically a Schengen member. The Schengen area is not completely free of border controls: Due to the many arrivals of refugees and migrants, temporary border controls have been reintroduced at several borders between the states in recent years and these have been repeatedly extended. Austria had justified its veto against the Schengen expansion with high asylum numbers.

Significant Improvement in Migration Situation

According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, the migration situation has significantly improved. There has been a 40 percent decrease in irregular border crossings into the EU and a strong decrease in migration on the Balkan route by minus 80 percent. There is also a decrease in Bulgaria (minus 47 percent) and Romania (minus 53 percent) compared to the same period last year in terms of unauthorized entries. "Austria has prevailed with tough but constructive EU politics to make our country and the European Union safer," Karner explained.

The EU Commission has been appealing to Austria for some time to give up its blockade. Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner has been advocating for the full inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria since his nomination, contrary to the then Viennese government line. Even on the Dutch side, despite the new right-wing populist government, a return to the previous blockade attitude is not expected. The previous government had agreed last year to the full Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria; the current one is likely to stick to it.

A first step was taken with "Air Schengen": At the end of March, border controls at the air and sea borders to Bulgaria and Romania were dropped. Another followed in November: The interior ministers of Austria, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Hungary, agreed on a new border protection package in Budapest to set the course for a Schengen accession of the two Balkan countries in January. The EU ambassadors then completed "the preparation of the Council decision to lift the controls at the land borders to Bulgaria and Romania from January 1, 2025" at the end of November, thus finally clearing the way for the vote on Thursday.

Hundred Border Guards at the Bulgarian-Turkish Border

However, not all borders will be completely dropped: The Budapest border protection package provides for the countries participating in Budapest to send a joint contingent of one hundred border guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border. In addition, according to Karner, there will still be internal border controls between Bulgaria and Romania as well as Hungary and Romania for a certain period of time. If the EU external border protection is not as robust as it should be, then such compensatory measures are necessary, said the Interior Minister.

(APA/Red.)

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