Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Croatia was given a green light to join the border-free Schengen area starting on 1 January next year, but vetoes from Austria and the Netherlands kept Romania and Bulgaria out of the zone.
A tense session of European Union’s interior ministers in Brussels concluded on Thursday by approving Croatia’s accession to the border-free zone, but Austria ultimately blocked the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, citing security concerns, while the Netherlands opposed accepting Bulgaria into the Schengen.
“It is wrong that a system that does not work properly in many places would get expanded at this point,” said Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. While Austria rejected both Bulgaria and Romania, Dutch minister Hanke Bruins Slot represented her country’s position that only Bulgaria should be kept out.
Even though the European Commission recommended that all three countries be admitted into the Schengen area, ultimately only Croatia received unanimous backing from other Schengen area members. Starting next year, Croatia will thus join the border-free area comprising most other EU members, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Iceland. Only Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ireland will remain out, with Ireland maintaining an opt-out, using its own visa policy.
Welcome Croatia
“To the citizens of Croatia: Welcome, congratulations!,” said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. “To the citizens of Romania and Bulgaria – you deserve to be full members of Schengen, to have access to the free movement… I share the disappointment with the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania.”
“When it comes to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria we are not united, and that makes us very weak and that makes me also sad,” Johansson told reporters after the ministers’ meeting. Critics of the decision to keep the two countries out fear it might lead to a loss of EU support in Bulgaria and Romania, and bolster eurosceptic parties in both countries.
For Croatia, Schengen accession represents the country’s last EU accession goal, after already receiving the green light for euro adoption, also slated to start on 1 January next year. Both goals hold not only political but also economic importance – Croatia is a popular tourist destination, with roughly three-quarters of its annual tourist arrivals coming from Schengen area countries. For them, Croatian accession means an end to border checks and long queues at the border between Slovenia and Croatia.
Anger in Sofia
The Bulgarian government expressed dissatisfaction with the Dutch decision, calling it an act of “cynicism.” Bulgarian President Rumen Radev accused Europe of not showing solidarity, while several ministers stressed that the EU should have recognized Bulgaria’s efforts to comply with the Schengen area’s requirements.
“Our efforts do not deserve neglect! Our efforts do not deserve insults,” said Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev. “The Netherlands has no right not to want us in Schengen. The way they did it is absolutely unacceptable, unfounded politically and legally,” said Justice Minister Krum Zarkov.
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu summoned the Austrian ambassador to Bucharest on Thursday evening to convey the Romanian government’s protests against “Austria’s unjustified and unfriendly attitude,” warning it will have “inevitable consequences” on the relations between the two countries.
