Romania and Bulgaria will as of Jan. 1 become full members of the Schengen free-travel zone, EU interior ministers agreed Thursday.
The green light follows Austria’s decision on Monday to drop its veto against both countries’ accession. The countries were supposed to join the Schengen zone in 2023 along with Croatia, but that deal unraveled when Austria objected that Bulgaria and Romania were failing to handle a steep rise in migrants arriving through the Western Balkan route.
“After ‘Schengen Air’, ‘Schengen Land’ is now open to Romania and Bulgaria,” said Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner on Monday, adding that Austria’s demands led to a drop in migrant’s arrival numbers.
Romania and Bulgaria partially joined the Schengen zone in March, with air and maritime restrictions being lifted.
The internal affairs ministers of Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria and Romania agreed in November to “initiate the necessary steps” to set a date to lift checks on land borders with Romania and Bulgaria, on the condition that joint efforts to stem irregular migration were continued.
