The Czech Presidency proposed a phased instead of immediate full Schengen membership for Bulgaria and Romania to unblock their admission, diplomatic sources say, but this was not enough.
Last week, the ambitions of Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen area of the free movement met with resistance in the Council. The Netherlands was bothered by Bulgaria’s “insufficient progress” in the fight against corruption and respect for the rule of law, and Austria by the alleged security risks of illegal migration, which according to Vienna are associated with the Schengen enlargement.
In the case of Vienna, likely, this is not a genuine fear of illegal migration but rather a political game. As a diplomatic source told EURACTIV.cz, other states have unsuccessfully warned Austria that its “numbers simply do not add up”.
The source suggested that Austria’s ruling party, which is losing support, is, in fact trying to find a strong issue on which to win voters.
The enlargement of Schengen is one of the priorities of the Czech Presidency. Regarding the efforts to find a compromise, a different diplomatic source told EURACTIV.cz the Presidency was offering a solution in the form of a “phased” accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen.
This could look like, for example, removing checks at airports and taking further steps in stages. But some states reportedly had no will to agree on even that.
At present, it is difficult to predict when, if ever, it will be possible to “repair the damage” and persuade Austria and the Netherlands to withdraw their vetoes. But one thing is clear – it will not happen under the Czech Presidency. The next meeting of interior ministers is not scheduled until the end of January, when the Swedes will be at the helm of the Council.
(Ondřej Plevák | EURACTIV.cz)
Source: euractiv.com
