Admitting Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area

Subject: Admitting Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area

The new Commission aims, among other things, to strengthen and improve the functioning of the internal market and to create a non-fragmented European Union. Continuous efforts are required to ensure the further deepening of the single market, which will yield significant gains for EU consumers and businesses alike.

Given that Romania has satisfied the conditions of the Schengen regulation since 2011 and that Parliament has voted in favour of two resolutions to admit Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area, what steps will the Commission take to enable these two Member States to join the Schengen Area and thus end discrimination against goods transporters, businesses and the citizens of these two countries?

Answer given by Ms Johansson on behalf of the European Commission

(30 March 2020)

In 2011 already, the Commission acknowledged the readiness of Bulgaria and Romania to join the area without controls at internal borders and has continuously supported this objective. The Commission therefore also supported the resolutions (1) of the European Parliament on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the area without controls at internal border s (2). The final decision lies with the Council of the EU, where unanimity is required. The Commission does not have a formal role in this process.

⋅1∙ European Parliament legislative resolution of 8 June 2011 on the draft Council decision on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in the

Republic of Bulgaria and Romania (P7_TA(2011)0254) and European Parliament resolution of 11 December 2018 on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania: abolition of checks at internal land, sea and air borders (P8_TA(2018)0497). ⋅2∙ See the Commission’s response to the 2018 resolution: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/spdoc.do?i=31782&j=0&l=en