Ylva Johansson expects Romania and Bulgaria to fully join Schengen on January 1, 2025

The European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Ylva Johansson, declared herself convinced, on Tuesday, in the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, that Romania and Bulgaria "will enjoy all the advantages of the Schengen Area" starting from January 1 next year.Think how far we have come. Five years ago, Schengen expansion was not on the agenda. When I started the mandate, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania were stuck in the antechamber, even if they were prepared. The commission said they were prepared. We [the Commission] have said for 13 years. The Parliament said that they are prepared, but the Council still had to take the decision in this sense, the European official recalled in her last speech in the EP, held during a debate about the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area.Sometimes, however, changes can come quickly, but not automatically. We all worked hard to bring about this change, working together and building trust. In the last two years, things have been essential. Croatia entered Schengen last year. Romania and Bulgaria also joined in March this year, eliminating air and sea controls, and this has changed the lives of millions of citizens (...) And now, behold, we are taking the last steps and the land controls will be eliminated, said Ylva Johansson.She recalled the recent informal inter-ministerial meeting in Budapest, chaired by the Hungarian presidency, where the interior ministers of Romania, Bulgaria and Austria, the only country that opposed the accession of Bucharest and Sofia to Schengen, reached an agreement to lift this veto.The ministers have pledged to bring this item on the agenda of the next Justice and Home Affairs Council in December, and I expect the Hungarian presidency [of the EU Council] to propose to the Council in December that controls be eliminated at the land borders for Bulgaria and Romania starting from January 1, 2025. I expect that this will happen, she added in front of the MEPs.We got here not only through negotiations. It's about working together, imposing concrete measures on the ground, regulating migration, fighting traffickers and investing together in common security. And the measures are bearing fruit : Bulgaria and Romania have joined the Schengen family, the European official also said.I only have a few days left as commissioner. So, my successor will be the one who will be present at the JHA Council next month. I will not be there, but you can be sure that I will follow the developments. Also, I prepared the champagne and you can be sure that I will be thinking about my friends from Romania and Bulgaria at the New Year's Eve, I am very happy because they have worked hard for years to achieve this objective and I am very happy that at the end of my mandate we are so close to this decision to welcome Bulgaria and Romania completely, she declared.In the end, Ylva Johansson said she was happy for all the citizens of Bulgaria and Romania. You belong to the Schengen area, you deserve to benefit from all the freedoms of the Schengen area, she concluded her speech.Austria has recently shown its willingness to lift the right of veto regarding the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen free movement area.Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country holds the six-monthly presidency of the EU Council, announced in turn that the interior ministers of the European Union will vote on December 12 on Hungary's proposal to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen space with the land borders. (Photo:https://it.m.wikipedia.org/)