Austria has prevented Romania and Bulgaria from joining Schengen, the passport-free region where border checks between the vast majority of EU members states have been eliminated.
While opposing Bulgaria’s bid, the Netherlands supported Romania’s.
However, Croatia won universal support and will join the Schengen Area in January 2023.
The votes were cast on Thursday afternoon in Brussels during a crucial gathering of interior ministers.
Bulgaria and Romania “are meeting all the criteria.
They have been patiently waiting for a while.
Romanian and Bulgarian nationals should have complete access to the Schengen region “Following the meeting, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson made a statement.
“I thought, actually, that we would have the decision today. So, I think that today is a day of disappointment.”
Both Romania and Bulgaria, which entered the European Union six years before Croatia, suffered a bitter political setback as a result of the unfavorable outcome, which was generally anticipated.
Since at least 2011, according to the European Commission, which evaluates Schengen candidacies, the two nations are prepared to join the passport-free zone.
Just last month, the executive issued another unequivocal backing, and the European Parliament adopted a new resolution criticizing the exclusion as “unfair.”
Countries that had previously resisted the expansion of the Schengen area, such as Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Belgium, have softened their positions in recent years, raising the likelihood of a successful resolution.
The most powerful nations in the bloc, France and Germany, expressed their support for Romania and Bulgaria this year. But none of this was sufficient to dissuade the Austrian and Dutch from being cautious.
Due to the requirement for unanimity for Schengen membership, the tiny minority was able to stop the entire process.
According to an EU ambassador, the debate on Thursday lasted “longer than expected” and “certain bitterness in the room” when the outcome was made obvious.
Austria’s resistance is based on a fresh surge of asylum seekers via the Western Balkan route, which has startled many in Brussels given that it only recently became apparent.
“Currently, the system is not operational.
Despite being an inland country in the center of Europe and the Schengen countries, Austria experienced more than 100,000 unlawful border crossings this year, with 75,000 of them being unreported “said Gerhard Karner, the interior minister of Austria.
“The system doesn’t work. This means that we first have to significantly improve the system at this point. Therefore, I am in favour of postponing the vote and including these countries accordingly”.
Vienna’s assertions have been vigorously refuted by Bucharest, which says that Romania is not a part of the Western Balkan route and that numerous reports from the European Commission and expert fact-finding missions have shown that the nation is well-equipped to regulate its external borders.
According to a representative for Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, both Romania and Bulgaria are included in the Western Balkan route.
More than 128,000 border-crossing incidents have occurred on the trail in the first ten months of this year, a 168% increase over the same period in 2021.
