Romania’s Schengen accession will not be subject to a vote during the Justice and Home Affairs Council’s (JHA) meeting on 5 December, according to political sources cited by News.ro.
During the upcoming JHA Council next week, the discussion on Romania and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession is expected without a formal vote, given ongoing negotiations for a new government in the Netherlands.
The provisional agenda of the JHA indicates that on 5 December, there will be discussions on the overall situation in the Schengen area, along with a potential debate on the Council Decision concerning the full application of Schengen provisions in Bulgaria and Romania.
According to sources cited by News.ro, Romania is striving to convene an Extraordinary Council by the end of December to decide on Romania’s accession in two stages, commencing with air borders in March next year, followed by road and sea borders.
The sources affirm that a separation from Bulgaria is not being considered.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has explored this scenario with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez.
The Netherlands has opposed Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen, and Austria has opposed both Romania’s and Bulgaria’s inclusion in the free movement area.
Despite Vienna’s consistent signalling of maintaining its position, on Tuesday, Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch expressed on the X platform that Romania’s Schengen accession would benefit Austria and Romania.
“Both Austria and Romania would benefit greatly from Romania’s Schengen accession. It would have advantages for many companies and would also be a great relief for the 30,000 24-hour caregivers on whom thousands of families in Austria depend”, Rauch wrote in the context of a meeting in Brussels with Romanian Labour and Social Solidarity Minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu.
Last week, Bulgarian EPP MEP Andrey Kovatchev told journalists in Strasbourg that Bulgaria will not be admitted to Schengen before Austria’s 2024 parliamentary elections.
(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
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