As Bulgaria and Romania seek the full club of Schengen’s loose movement dominance and Croatia starts the process, EURACTIV spoke to MEP Paulo Rangel (EPP) to discuss the countries’ respective paths.
Rangel, the rapporteur of Croatia’s accession file, that the 3 countries had met the criteria to continue.
On Tuesday 18th October the European Parliament followed a solution supporting the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area. The Council is expected to vote on the factor in December and negotiations are expected to begin next year.
The last Council vote on the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania, vetoed through the Dutch and Finnish governments, 11 years ago. Since then, Bulgaria and Romania have experienced a hybrid scenario in terms of border control.
Before a Council vote on Croatia’s accession, the European Parliament still wants to agree on an opinion, Rangel told EURACTIV.
EU governments will vote in December to give the club of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen dominance after more than a decade of delay.
[Edited via Nathalie Weatherald]