Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The Schengen area is undoubtedly one of the EU’s greatest achievements. Unrestricted travel benefits millions of European citizens and businesses. But for Bulgaria and Romania, the EU has yet to make this borderless dream come true.
Quite the opposite, the process for joining the free travel area has turned into a recurring nightmare for two countries on the EU’s external border. Last week marked 11 years since conservative-led governments vetoed Romania’s and Bulgaria’s application to join the Schengen zone.
Both Bulgaria and Romania have completed all stages of the evaluation process to join the passport-free bloc. This was part of the deal. However, despite repeated calls from the European Parliament, the process has been unacceptably delayed over years for reasons totally unrelated to the sustainable and responsible management of the EU’s external borders.
With approximately 1.7 million citizens commuting between Schengen countries and 3.5 million individuals crossing internal borders every day, according to European Commission estimates, the Schengen area has the potential to bring even more opportunities to European citizens, bolster European inter-trade, and enhance border security.
The original plan of the Schengen area was to unite Europe. It has achieved this goal in parts of Europe, but not in the whole of the European Union. European unity cannot be viewed as complete without the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area. In this context, the Justice and Home Affairs EU Council this December will represent a key moment that could finalize the two countries’ process of achieving Schengen membership.
For many years already, Romania and Bulgaria have fulfilled the necessary technical conditions and requirements for full Schengen membership. The two countries are part of all the technical instruments specific to the Schengen area but are not benefitting from its opportunities. At the European level, there have been important voices confirming that such a decision is, indeed, tangible and needed.
As early as 2011, the European Parliament stated that Romania and Bulgaria had prepared to accede to the Schengen area. The delay in the procedure could not be legally explained by EU institutions and I include myself among those that support legal action at the EU Court of Justice, which could be an option if no decision is made this year.
For Brussels Morning on this topic, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) noted that It is time to end a decade of unfair treatment of Bulgarians and Romanians.
The S&D stated that in their efforts to end over a decade of unfair treatment of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, the Socialists and Democrats pushed for a headline plenary debate in the European Parliament on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area without internal border control.
” In the debate today, the S&D Group is calling on the Czech Presidency and the Council to finally unblock the lifting of border controls for Bulgaria and Romania. Both countries have fulfilled all the legal and technical obligations needed for the Schengen acquis to apply in full since 2011. The debate taking place today comes ahead of a vote on a resolution during the October II plenary session where we will work with other political groups to send a clear message from the European Parliament that the wait must finally be over ” told Brussels Morning the representatives of the S&D.
In this context Iratxe García Pérez, S&D Group President, said:
“Without any objective reason, Bulgaria and Romania have been waiting eleven years for the Council to unblock their entry into Schengen. Freedom of movement is one of the fundamental pillars of our Union, and citizens of Bulgaria and Romania have the same right as citizens of other member states. No more and no less. It is a question of fairness. This discriminatory blockade in the Council must end, otherwise, citizens in these countries will run out of patience. We talk a lot about solidarity but it must apply to everyone. You cannot ask for solidarity from Bulgaria and Romania when the European Union is not living up to its own commitments. It is the best recipe for fuelling disaffection with Europe and support for populist anti-European messages.”
On the other hand Gaby Bischoff, S&D Vice President, said:
“Millions of Bulgarians and Romanians have been denied their full rights to free movement for too long. With EU membership comes obligations and rights. Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled their Schengen obligations, and are Schengen members, but their citizens are still not able to enjoy the same rights. We pride ourselves on being a union based on values and the rule of law and this failure to act is harmful and hypocritical. The unequal treatment gives the impression that there are second-class citizens in the EU. Furthermore, the never-ending block in the Council is another example of the limits of unanimity in the EU’s decision-making. We need to echo today’s debate with a clear and strongly-worded resolution that outlines Parliament’s overwhelming support for the treaty provisions on Schengen to apply to Romania and Bulgaria as soon as possible.”
