Austria raises Veto against Schengen expansion-a historical step!

Austria raises Veto against Schengen expansion-a historical step!

Wien, Österreich - Austria dropped his veto against the Schengen accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) will officially announce the decision on Wednesday in parliament. This happens in the run-up to the EU Interior Ministers' meeting on December 12th in Brussels, where the expansion is on the agenda. According to the Karner, the previous hard EU policy in Austria reflects the will to make the country and the European Union safer. In the past two years, Austria has negotiated intensively to enforce important measures in the area of ​​border protection, which, among other things, led to a significant decline in illegal border crossings, such as Kleine Zeitung reported.

Two years ago, together with the Netherlands, Austria had blocked the Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania with a veto. This led to considerable resentment in the EU, since the EU Commission certified the two countries to fulfill all the necessary conditions. Karner had justified the decision at that time with the increasing number of asylum and defective EU migration policy. Nevertheless, Austria was criticized for its single approach, especially after Croatia was included in the Schengen area without further hurdle. Karner defended the veto and found that Austria's demands were taken seriously, as he explained in an interview, while he referred to the success of the negotiations for a border protection package that was adopted with the decision, as vienna.at reported.

The official decision to admit Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen region could now be an important step in European migration policy. With the withdrawal of the veto, the path for the complete integration of both countries is paved into the Schengen system, which means that the internal limit controls between these states and other Schengen countries can also be largely canceled. Karner had already indicated in the past that this decision was also made taking into account safety aspects and more stable border protection. The talks in Budapest led to a clear agreement on the measures to improve border controls, so that Austria can continue to take control of its external borders and migration.