Bóka: Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen membership would fulfil EU presidency priority

The official decision of Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen membership will follow a meeting of EU interior ministers on December 12.

János Bóka, EU Affairs Minister, said Bulgaria and Romania’s full membership in the Schengen Area would fulfil a priority of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union.

At a “meeting of historic significance” in Budapest on Friday, the interior ministers of Austria, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria reviewed the results of their joint fight against illegal migration, and “concluded that there is no obstacle to the full Schengen membership of Romania and Bulgaria,” Bóka said in a video on Facebook.

The official decision may follow at a meeting of EU interior ministers on December 12, Bóka said, “and we are all looking forward to the full Schengen membership of Bulgaria and Romania from January 1, 2025.”