The Netherlands have officially given the green light for Bulgaria and Romania’s full Schengen membership, following a vote in the Dutch parliament which took place on Wednesday and supported this recent decision of the government, relates the news site of the Bulgarian public television, says News.ro. On Wednesday, the Freedom party of the extremist Geert Wilders, the largest party in the Dutch government coalition, tried to introduce a parliamentary motion through which to urge the government to vote against Bulgaria and Romania’s full Schengen membership. However, this motion was rejected. The other parties in the government coalition of the country voted, similarly, against this. For years, the Netherlands stood in the way of the two countries becoming part of the Schengen Area. They were joined in this by countries like Austria. But the previous Cabinet, who were in caretaker status at the time, changed their opinion on this last year. They felt that Bulgaria would help better protect Europe's borders along Turkey. They also believed that Bulgaria would combat corruption and would do a good job at safeguarding the rule of law. Austria stipulated that controls at the country's borders should remain in place, but also withdrew the latter resistance last month. All vetoes against both countries, which had been agreed to join the Schengen Area together, have thus been removed. EU interior ministers are due to vote in Brussels on Thursday on whether Bulgaria and Romania should be fully admitted to the Schengen area. If the decision on Romania and Bulgaria's full Schengen membership is approved by the JHA Council on Thursday, land border controls between and with Romania and Bulgaria will be lifted from 1 January 2025. However, the two countries have pledged to continue random border checks for another six months.
“Catane,” a dark comedy inspired by real events and directed by Ioana Mischie, is set to have its first special screenings in Romania after a successful festival circuit. The film had its world premiere at the IFFI Goa festival in India and was nominated this year at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best […]
Romania is among the European countries where water reserves are decreasing at an alarming rate, according to an analysis carried out by researchers from University College London in collaboration with The Guardian and Watershed Investigations. Scientists analyzed data from the period 2002–2024 provided by satellites that monitor changes in the Earth's...
George Smyth, 18, went missing on a hike near Romania’s famous Bran Castle more than a week ago. On November 23, the British citizen started to suffer from hypothermia and exhaustion and called the emergency services. Trying to locate him, mountain rescue services conducted searches over the next few days but were only able to […]
Over 107,000 people in Prahova and Dâmbovița counties, in southern Romania, have been without drinking water since Friday, November 28, due to problems at the Paltinu Dam. According to local authorities, the problems are set to persist until next week. The dam registered a drop in water levels, leading to problems in the water distribution system. […]
A special ‘Silent Day’ event will be held at the Bucharest Christmas Market in Constituției Square on Wednesday, December 3, aimed at creating a quieter and more accessible environment for children with sensory disabilities. The initiative is designed to make the festive market manageable for children who may struggle with loud noise, bright lights, and […]
Romanians have the highest level of trust in others in the European Union, according to the most recent Eurostat data for the year 2024, ahead of the usual leader of the ranking, Finland. The indicator ‘trust in others’ measures a person’s trust in people they do not know on a scale from 0 (‘I...
