Schengen / Illustrative photo © Palezik
Bulgaria and Romania are considering the possibility of cancelling border control if they are not admitted to the Schengen zone by the end of the year.
A Member of the European Parliament from Bulgaria, Andrey Novakov, expressed concerns about economic losses from border delays and corruption issues among border guards.
In December of the previous year, Austria and the Netherlands blocked Bulgaria's entry into the Schengen zone, while Romania faced a veto only from Austria.
This sparked discussions about the possibility of Romania's separate entry into Schengen.
Novakov also noted that political obstacles for both countries' entry into the Schengen zone are no longer associated with vetoes from individual EU countries.
He criticized populist rhetorical statements that don't reflect the real situation.
The Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Romania discussed the possibility of cancelling border control between their countries, which would allow resources to be focused on protecting the EU's external border.
This would also reduce carbon dioxide emissions from car queues at borders.
The European Parliament has already confirmed that both Bulgaria and Romania have met all the necessary requirements for Schengen entry.
However, some EU countries, particularly Austria, continue to block their entry, citing security and migration concerns.
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