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Romania and Bulgaria expect to join the EU’s border-free Schengen area in March as crunch talks with Austria draw to a close, the Romanian government has said.
Vienna opposed the move for years, but in recent weeks indicated it could support a gradual expansion, with Bulgarian and Romanian airports included first and if a series of conditions regarding border security and migration were met. The three governments reached an agreement on that just before Christmas, the Romanian interior ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 and met Schengen entry criteria by 2010, but their membership of the border-free area was held up due to concerns about graft and a perception in Austria that they would do little to stop migrants from crossing their borders.
“After 13 years, finally Romania will join Schengen,” Romanian Premier Marcel Ciolacu wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “From March next year, Romanians will benefit from the advantages of the Schengen area by air and sea.”
“I am also convinced that in 2024 we will close negotiations for the land border,” he added.
The Bulgarian government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Austria’s interior ministry confirmed talks were ongoing about including Romania and Bulgaria’s airports in Schengen. “Negotiations on a Schengen air route for Bulgaria and Romania are currently continuing.” The ministry did not mention seaports and said there were “currently no negotiations” about land borders.
Vienna made clear its conditions, including increased border protection and a willingness to accept migrants, especially from Syria and Afghanistan, the ministry added.
Croatia joined Schengen a year ago in a decision that left out Romania and Bulgaria, angering the leaders of those countries.
Romania threatened to sue Vienna for several billion euros and told Austria’s energy company OMV that a joint gas drilling project in the Black Sea would suffer delays unless Schengen moved forward.
Bulgaria, meanwhile, introduced a punitive transit tax on Russian gas crossing its territory, some of which ends up in Austria. But Sofia was forced to scrap the levy after Hungary threatened to veto its Schengen accession.
A political agreement with Vienna requires other EU member states to also give their approval, with more discussions expected on Thursday, according to the Romanian interior ministry.
Including seaports in the agreement can also help neighbouring Ukraine, as Romania’s Black Sea port of Constanta has developed into an alternative route for Ukrainian exports amid Russia’s war.
“Constanta will immediately increase its importance exponentially,” Ciolacu said.