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Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are already eligible to join the bloc’s visa-free travel regime and should benefit from participation “without delay”, the bloc’s executive arm said, calling on other member states to ratify.
The countries, which make a significant contribution to the well-functioning of the so-called Schengen area, should be allowed full membership during the pandemic and when facing the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, the European Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.
The final decision still rests with EU justice ministers, who are expected to vote on the matter on Dec. 8.
The commission said in a statement that the expanded Schengen area would make Europe safer, more prosperous and more attractive as it could significantly expand the world’s largest public area without internal border controls.
“Now is the time to say welcome,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters in Brussels. “These three member states deserve to feel fully Europeanized. It’s been a long time coming.”
The European Parliament voted earlier this month for Croatia to join Schengen, the first since Liechtenstein joined Schengen more than a decade ago.
Romania and Bulgaria have also long met the technical criteria to join the Schengen area, but some EU member states have expressed reluctance over concerns about the countries’ ability to curb corruption and uphold the rule of law.
The pair joined the EU in 2007 but failed to win the political vote to become members of the Schengen area four years later due to corruption concerns.Now they are trying to show they can accommodate the influx of refugees from the war Ukraine while still protecting the EU’s external borders. Both countries hope to be admitted to the zone as early as January 1, while Croatia also hopes to join on that date.
The Netherlands is still undecided whether to support Schengen with Romania. Sweden’s position on eastward expansion is also unclear, as its new government may lack the support necessary to support the three bids in parliament. Sweden Democrats leader Magdalena Andersson said the Sweden Democrats, which support a minority cabinet in the legislature, opposed the plan, and the opposition Social Democrats had asked the government to submit an analysis of the consequences.
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said his Swedish counterpart assured him that the Nordic countries would not oppose entry.
“We continue our diplomatic efforts,” Aurescu told reporters in Bucharest on Wednesday. “I have been assured that the position of the current Swedish government has not changed and supports our bid.”
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