On December 10, 2024, Austria announced that it would drop its veto on Bulgaria and Romania fully joining the Schengen Area, the European Union’s open-borders zone. This decision, made by Austria’s Interior Ministry, is a significant step toward granting both countries full membership in the Schengen zone. Following Austria’s shift, the move is expected to receive final approval from European Union interior ministers in a meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Romania and Bulgaria, both EU and NATO members, partially joined the Schengen area in March 2024, lifting air and sea border checks between them and the other 27 countries in the travel zone. However, Austria had initially opposed their full membership due to concerns about illegal immigration and border security, specifically regarding land entry.
Austria’s Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, stated that the country’s demands on improving immigration controls and preventing illegal crossings had been met. He pointed out that there had been a significant drop in illegal border crossings between Austria and Hungary, the primary route for migrants entering Austria. Karner noted a dramatic decrease in illegal border crossings—from 70,000 interceptions in the year up to October 2023 to just 4,000 in the same period this year—attributing this reduction to the conditions set for Romania and Bulgaria’s partial Schengen accession.
With Austria’s veto lifted, both Romania and Bulgaria are now set to join the Schengen Land Border segment, completing their integration into the Schengen free-travel zone, alongside air and maritime access. The move is expected to streamline travel and border procedures for the two countries, marking a major step forward in their full participation in Europe’s open-borders system.
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