Romania to join Schengen Area in March 2024

UPDATE: Romania and Bulgaria have reported advancements in talks with Vienna concerning Austria’s opposition to expanding the Schengen area. Despite this, Interior Minister of the Austrian Empire Gerhard Karner “is not willing to engage with this matter,” and there is no specified timeline for lifting land border restrictions, as reported by the Austrian publication Die Presse on the evening of Thursday, December 28.

Additionally, the Der Standard publication’s website also reported that Gerhard Karner announced that “negotiations are currently ongoing,” and their conditions remain unchanged: an increase in the Frontex mission in Bulgaria and funds from the European Commission for enhanced protection of the external border at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. This includes strengthening controls at land borders and the acceptance by Romania and Bulgaria of asylum seekers, especially from Afghanistan and Syria, who have already been registered in these countries.

On the evening of December 27, the Ministry of Internal Affairs officially announced that a political consensus has been achieved with the ministries of Austria and Bulgaria to the prospective enlargement of the Schengen Area, encompassing air and maritime borders starting in March 2024.

According to the authorities, the phased integration into the Schengen area will commence initially with air and maritime borders, followed by negotiations throughout the upcoming year to facilitate entry into the free movement zone, inclusive of land borders. Furthermore, discussions scheduled for 2024 will address the extension of this application to land borders. This process is closely tied to compensatory measures aimed at reinforcing border control and adhering to the stipulations of the Dublin Agreement.

Diplomatic negotiations transpired on December 26 and 27, involving representatives from the ministries of internal affairs and foreign affairs, including diplomatic missions accredited to the EU. The focus of these discussions was the formulation of a legal framework within the Council’s decision project to codify the aforementioned political consensus. Deliberations are set to persist on December 28, 2023. It is imperative to note that the materialization of this political consensus into a formal decision necessitates the unanimous agreement of all EU Member States, an ongoing procedural step that will continue on December 28, 2023.

Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu made the announcement on social media, underlining also that Romanians will benefit from the advantages of the Schengen area by air and sea from March next year and this will implicitly lead to a greater importance for the southeastern Constanta Port.