Bulgaria and Romania join Schengen area - Kosovars travel visa-free
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the EU member states' decision to expand the Schengen area: "Today is a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania. And a proud day for the Romanian and Bulgarian citizens," she said. Federal Chancellor Olaf Schoz (SPD) spoke of a "first step". Germany will continue to support "full integration" into the Schengen area, he said on X. "This is how Europe grows closer together!".
The visa-free zone of the Schengen area currently includes 27 European countries with around 400 million citizens. These include 23 EU countries and four partner states: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Romania and Bulgaria have been EU member states since 2007, but after a waiting period of more than ten years, the two countries had the door slammed in their faces again by the Schengen countries at the end of 2022.
Austria vetoed the admission at the time. The Alpine country has been criticizing the high number of irregular migrants on the so-called Balkan route for years and has called for better protection of the EU's external borders. The Netherlands also voted against Bulgaria's application.
At the beginning of December, however, the Austrian government offered to drop the Schengen borders for air traffic with Bulgaria and Romania in exchange for Brussels strengthening the EU's external borders through stricter border controls.
According to a further regulation that came into force on New Year's Day, Kosovars can now travel to the Schengen area for up to 90 days without a visa.
According to the EU Commission, Kosovo had already fulfilled all the conditions for visa-free entry into the Schengen area in 2018. However, the entry into force of the travel facilitation was blocked by France and the Netherlands, who feared a new wave of migration. The EU members Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain also opposed the reform. Like Serbia, these five countries do not recognize Kosovo's independence.
The Federal Foreign Office has now welcomed the visa-free regime as a "further important step" that will bring people closer to Europe.
The European embassies in Pristina, especially those with a particularly high number of visa requests, had prepared for the special day. German Ambassador Jörn Rohde was relieved to issue the last visas a few days ago - and invited the Kosovars to visit his country for the European Football Championship this summer.
Meanwhile, the presidency of the EU Council also passed from Spain to Belgium with the start of the new year. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wished the new presidency "good luck". She is looking forward to working together for "a stronger European democracy" and a "bigger, bolder Europe in the future", she said on X.
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Source: www.stern.de
