Romania and Bulgaria have been granted full Schengen membership, with a caveat!
Romania and Bulgaria's joint journey to join the passport-free Schengen Area ended on Thursday morning as interior ministers from the European Union gave their final blessing to their hard-fought candidacy.
The landmark decision was made possible after Austria, the staunchest opponent, lifted its veto imposed last month during a meeting in Budapest.
"A great victory for Bulgaria, Romania and all of Europe," said the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council, which has made the completion of Schengen a key priority.
As a result, the two eastern countries will join Schengen as of January 1, 2025 as full members, closing the chapter that began in 2011, when the European Commission first determined their readiness for membership.
At the time, many countries, including Germany and France, opposed the joint candidacy. Over time, political opposition gradually eased, leaving the Netherlands and, eventually, Austria as the last obstacle in the long road.
The admission, however, comes with a key caveat, set to somewhat dampen the festivities.
The Budapest agreement provides for the introduction of land border controls between Hungary and Romania and between Romania and Bulgaria for "at least" six months to "prevent any serious threat to public policy and internal security".
The wording of "at least" implies that they can be extended even further.
The concession was intended to assuage Vienna's lingering concerns about irregular migration, which the country has repeatedly used to block the double bid.
This means that the major achievement of Thursday's approval of the permanent removal of passport controls at land borders will not be fully realized and citizens traveling across the border will still risk facing some queues and delays.
The use of border controls to stem migration flows has become increasingly popular across the bloc. Germany, France and the Netherlands are among those who have resorted to the measure in recent months, despite its contested effectiveness.
Saila Heinikoski, a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), says reintroducing border controls could act as a "tool" for politicians to "tell the domestic public that we are doing something".
"Interior border controls may not actually be that invasive, they may just be random checks at the border," Heinikoski said.
The Schengen area, one of the most tangible achievements of European integration, currently includes 29 countries and more than 450 million.
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