Islamabad, Nov 25: Two New Countries Set to Join Schengen Zone in January 2025. Romania will join the Schengen Area for land borders on January 1, 2025, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. According to Schengen.News, he made these comments in Budapest at a joint announcement with Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary.
“I want to thank all teams for their work, and we have reached an agreement at the level of the four states’ interior ministries. I am optimistic that Romania will attain complete Schengen admission by the end of the year after 13 years, given these tangible developments,” Ciolacu stated.
Bulgaria and Romania are moving closer to Schengen membership as part of a “package deal,” which means that Bulgaria will join Romania in having full access to Schengen. On November 22, while in Budapest for a meeting of the interior ministers of Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council Ciolacu met with Orban. The creation of a cooperative package and other measures for Romania and Bulgaria’s complete Schengen integration were the main topics of discussion.
Austria Removes Its Schengen Membership Veto:
On March 31, 2024, Romania and Bulgaria became air and maritime members of the Schengen Area. But because Austria was worried about irregular migration, they closed their land border accession. Austria agreed to relinquish its veto during the Budapest summit, therefore this barrier has now been lifted.
The final obstacle to Romania and Bulgaria’s land border admission was removed when the interior ministries came to a consensus, according to a spokesman for the Hungarian government. A vote is planned during the December 12–13 meeting of the EU Council for Justice and Home Affairs, which is anticipated to formalize the decision.
All requirements for full Schengen accession were fulfilled. According to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled all requirements for full Schengen membership. “If approved by EU interior ministers, Romania will join the Schengen Area by land, air, and sea on January 1st,” Orban stated. Significant progress toward full membership was also mentioned by Sándor Pintér, the interior minister of Hungary.
Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, and Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, both voiced hope about the outcome. Metsola underlined the significance of a stronger Schengen for a stronger Europe, while Johansson reaffirmed her expectation that land border controls will be lifted by January 2025.
