Romania and Bulgaria could join Schengen by end of year
The European Commission said Thursday that Romania and Bulgaria are ready to join the Schengen area of passport-free travel by the end of the year.
Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper said the bloc's executive arm expects a decision in favour of the two countries from the European Union's Justice and Home Affairs Council.
"The Commission's position is very clear, both Bulgaria and Romania are ready to fully join the Schengen area," Hipper said. "I would like to reiterate that Bulgaria and Romania have consistently acted as key players for the continued development of the Schengen area."
The European Parliament voted in July an extremely harsh resolution against Austria for refusing to grant Romania and Bulgaria the right to join the Schengen area. Austria is blocking Bulgaria and Romania from joining the Schengen area under the pretext of illegal migration.
Currently, all EU member countries except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are part of the Schengen free movement area, which also includes the non-EU countries Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The European Commission has assessed that Bulgaria and Romania are ready to join Schengen and the European Parliament has repeatedly supported their accession.
