Lars Danielsson, Sweden’s permanent representative to the European Union has noted that Bulgaria’s and Romania’s admission to the Schengen area primarily depends on the parties involved, indicating Austria and the Netherlands, who have opposed the proposal of these two Eastern European countries to become members of the zone.
According to Danielsson, whose country has taken over the rotating presidency of the Union since the beginning of 2023, Bulgaria and Romania will become Schengen Members once Austria and the Netherlands give the green light, which could be indicating reaching an agreement regarding migration, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“We see no point in putting it on the agenda until it is clear that there is a reasonable chance of getting approval in the Council. So we will try to do this during the Swedish Presidency, but I cannot guarantee that it will happen,” he stated.
Last December, Austria and the Netherlands stood in the of the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area, and if Austria insists on allowing the Schengen enlargement after a convenient agreement on immigration is reached, Romania’s bid could be postponed at least until next year.
However, that is highly unlikely to happen as the Swedish permanent representative to the EU, Danielsson pointed out that there will be no completed migration pact during the Swedish presidency, indicating half of the year, and likely not before 2024. He added that new policies will be worked on over until July when Spain takes over the EU presidency for the second half of 2023.
On the other hand, Croatia has joined Schengen Area, in addition to becoming a member of the Eurozone, which indicates that the country has adopted the Euro as its currency since January 1, 2023.
“On January 1, 2023, Croatia will adopt the euro as its currency and will fully join the Schengen area. This marks an important milestone in the history of Croatia, of the euro and Schengen area, and of the EU as a whole,” a statement issued by the European Union Commission reads.
With Croatia joining the EU, the total number of Schengen Area countries has reached a total of 27 members, 23 of which are also EU countries. On the other hand, Croatia has become the 19th country to join Eurozone and 347 million EU citizens will share the euro as their common currency.
As of January 2023, Croatian citizens are no longer limited to visiting other Schengen countries for only 90 days but rather have unlimited days to move to the rest of the area. However, alongside benefits there will also be some restrictions introduced to travellers from and to Croatia, which is advised for those planning a trip there, to check before visiting.
Source: Schengen Visa Info
