EU to expand border-free Schengen area, here are 2 new countries on list

The European Union has agreed to expand its border-free Schengen area that consists of 27 countries with a population of 400 million people. The Schengen will be extended to the zone comprising Romania and Bulgaria, the Spanish Council Presidency announced on X, formerly Twitter. All the air and sea border controls will be lifted by the end of March 2024.  The decision to lift the land border controls will be made at a date later to ensure the unrestricted movement of people inside Europe. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, at a presser, said that the border security checks procedures known as “Air Schengen” were agreed to that allowed the entry of two countries.

As many as 23 states in Europe including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland currently allow the unrestricted access to the travellers across the Schengen area. The plan to add the two EU countries, Romania and Bulgaria, had failed earlier. Established in 1985, the Schengen area ensures the unrestricted movement of people inside Europe. It was a “a long awaited step for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens to enjoy easier freedom of movement with the perspective of land transport to come," said European Council President Charles Michel as he congratulated the two countries on X.

Meanwhile the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen labelled the decision as “historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania." In a post on X, she added that it is “a day of great pride for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens.” She continued, "This is a major step forward for both countries and for the Schengen area as a whole.”

Schengen Area encompasses most of the EU countries, except for Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania. On 1 January 2023 Croatia became the newest member state.

Bulgaria, Romania's entry to visa free Schengen area resisted by Austria

The permission for Bulgaria and Romania to join Europe’s passport- and visa-free Schengen area was previously objected to by Austria over the over issues pertaining to the border checks when crossing the country by land, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov had told a presser, according to Associated Press. While allowing Croatia's admission, Austria hindered entry of Bulgaria and Romania in the group of European countries towards the later half of 2022.

"Negotiations with Austria will be combined with substantial support from the European Commission to protect the EU’s external borders with Turkey and Serbia in order to reduce the flow of illegal migrants to Europe,“ Denkov was quoted as saying.

Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu meanwhile confirmed the entry of Bucharest into the border-free travel zone. "We have a political agreement on this!” Ciolacu announced in a post on Facebook. “From March next year, Romanians will enjoy the benefits of the Schengen Area by air and sea.”

The two European countries have been negotiating their entry since 2011. The request can only be approved accepted unanimously. Vienna explained that it resisted Romania and Bulgaria’s entry on grounds of uncontrolled influx of the illegal migrants into the EU. However, the EU Commission in Brussels has now welcomed the decision, stating that the two countries’ entry will boost travel, trade, and tourism.