The history of disputes and plans regarding Schengen expansion continued: Schengen will be expanded this year by 1 more country — at least the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that Romania meets the criteria for joining the Schengen zone.
According to media reports, he said so at a joint press conference with the President of the Republic Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest. At the same time, everything can happen soon – the head of the European Council said that such a goal could be achieved in 2023.
However, according to Mr. Michel, this work “will be very intense.” He supported the idea of the Romanian president, who previously said that the EU would be more protected with Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen area.
“It is also pronounced that Romania meets the criteria. This means that it is time to make a political decision as soon as possible. And I will make every effort to ensure that such a decision is made as soon as possible,” said the head of the European Council.
However, let us remind you that in addition to the supporters of Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the European Union as soon as possible, there are also opponents. First of all, Austria, “knocked down” the idea of accepting these two countries into the European Union in December 2022 – at that time, only Croatia joined the European Union. And while the Austrian authorities adhere to the same positions: Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer continues to state that even the discussion of the road map on the admission of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen can only take place after the first measures to limit illegal migration begin to be taken. In addition, according to him, the Schengen zone cannot be expanded right now, because “the system is in a serious crisis.”