Croatia expects to meet the technical criteria for the border-free European Union's Schengen zone by year-end and hopes to join it by 2020, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Tuesday. Europe Bulgaria and Romania push to join EU's Schengen Area. The recent resolution of the European Parliament of December 11 reconfirms that Romania is fully prepared to join the Schengen Area. The Code is complemented by  relevant case-law of the Court of Justice. 4 EU country members that are not currently a part of the Schengen area are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania. The area mostly functions as a single jurisdiction for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy.The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement signed in Schengen, Luxembourg. If that happens soon, Croatia could be a part of Schengen by early 2020 and join the ERM-2 next year as well. Yet, in the same breath she called for extending controls along Germany's borders into the future. And rightly so, say critics of a premature accession. are carried out in a manner clearly distinct from systematic border checks on persons at the external borders. If such controls are reintroduced, the Member State concerned has to inform the Council (and thus, other Schengen countries), the European Parliament and the European Commission as well as the public. are carried out on the basis of spot-checks. Most say they are doing so not because of an acute terror threat, but because of a lack of protection at the EU's exterior borders. ... of which the Netherlands is already part and which Romania aspires to join? The diplomat's proposal is backed by a certain amount of political heft, considering Bulgaria currently holds the European Council's rotating presidency. crossing the EU external borders, including the types of visa needed. So the four countries, including Cyprus, must join Schengen. are based on general police information and experience. The non exhaustive list of criteria allowing to assess if police checks is equivalent to border controls is set out in the Schengen Borders Code. Romania has been trying to join the Schengen Area since 2011. Croatia still needs to attain approval from all member states to join either of these measures. Romania is not yet part of Europe's borderless Schengen area, but it is eager to join it and is showing goodwill in securing Europe's outer border. © 2021 Deutsche Welle | Yet the initiative is anything but new. … Originally, the concept of free movement was to enable the European working population to freely travel and settle in any EU State, but it fell short of abolishing border controls within the Union. 07 January 2020. A break-through came in 1985 when cooperation between individual governments led to the signing, in Schengen (a small village in Luxembourg), of the Agreement on the gradual abolition of checks at common borders, followed by the signing in 1990 of the Convention implementing that Agreement. Each time they have done so, the request has been denied on the basis of deficiencies in the areas of rule of law and fighting corruption. Indeed, Romania, which joined the bloc in 2007, and has the second largest land border of all the member states, has fulfilled the criteria to join Schengen since 2010. To get Schengen visa 2020 first you have to check which country territory or national you belong to then you have to apply for the Schengen visa from your country via travel agency embassy, the consular office. In light of heightened terrorism concerns, the European Commission has declared its intention to allow continued controls within the Schengen Area into the future. You can sign up to receive it directly here. Twenty-six countries are now part of the 1985 Schengen Agreement, which abolished passport and customs controls between the participating states. Juncker was unmistakable in stating that if Romania failed to rework its proposed reform it would adversely affect EU discussions about accession to the Schengen Area. With the establishment of the Schengen area in 1995, checks were abolished at the EU's internal borders. apply the common set of Schengen rules (the so-called ". Today, the Schengen Area encompasses most EU countries, except for Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania. He said in a recent newspaper interview that it would be desirable for both countries to join the Schengen Area in the long term, but he stressed that the security of German citizens should not be put at risk to do so. "We don't know why we should not be there." take responsibility for controlling the external borders on behalf of other Schengen countries and for issuing uniform Schengen visas. Accession to the Schengen Area remains one of Romania’s legitimate objectives and represents a commitment deriving from the Accession Treaty. "Until the protection of the external border works as we envision it, it is absolutely right that there should be controls at critical points along EU interior borders," Merkel said in a newspaper interview. Zaharieva has demanded Bulgaria be admitted to the Schengen Area by the end of the year. They style themselves as stable and safe countries at every opportunity; nevertheless, they have yet to be admitted to the Schengen Area. Merkel also called European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's proposal to admit Bulgaria and Romania as soon as possible a "reasonable approach." Meanwhile, EU Commission President Juncker has become more restrained in his accession calls, at least as far as Romania is concerned. The Schengen provisions abolish checks at EU's internal borders, while providing a single set of rules for controls at the external borders applicable to those who enter the Schengen area for a short period of time (up to 90 days). Bulgaria and Romania - EU members since 2007 - need the approval of all 25 Schengen nations to join. Privacy Policy | ZAGREB, March 9, 2018 - Romania wants to join the Schengen passport-free travel zone as soon as possible and fully supports Croatia in the same efforts, Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said at a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Marija Pejčinović Burić in Zagreb on Friday. The Schengen area relies on common rules covering in particular the following areas: Any person, irrespective of their nationality, may cross the internal borders without being subjected to border checks. What is Romania’s vision on the management of the migration phenomenon? The EU minister said that Romania expected, "hopefully next year", to have a "very frank discussion" with other member states, and that "maybe a vote should happen." In a December 2018 resolution, the majority of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of allowing Romania and Bulgaria to join, but it has not yet happened. The EU Parliament first concluded that Bulgaria and Romania were ready to join the Schengen Area in June 2011. During the EU summit in Sibiu, on May 9, PM Mark Rutte asserted that Romania would be ready to join the Schengen territory “when it complies with the rule of law and democracy”, estimating that the country is not going in the right direction for now. Bulgaria and Romania should “immediately” join the EU’s borderless Schengen area, the president of the European Commission has said. If there is a serious threat to public policy or internal security, a Schengen country may exceptionally temporarily reintroduce border control at its internal borders. For more information on police checks in internal border areas see cases of the European Court of Justice C-188/10 (Melki), C-278/12 (Adil) and C-444/17 (Arib). They style themselves as stable and safe countries at every opportunity; nevertheless, they have yet to be admitted to the Schengen Area. DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. Full Approval Not Guaranteed. Depending on your country of origin, you might need a Visa as well. Not only did she call for the repeal of temporary border controls within the bloc in a recent interview with the German daily newspaper Die Welt, she also demanded that Bulgaria and Romania be admitted to the Schengen Area by the end of the year. "To begin with, I want Bulgaria, Romania… The EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson wants Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania to join in the Schengen Zone as according to her the EU needs to update and strengthen Schengen. Although the agreement is based upon open borders between signatory counties, some border controls have been temporarily reinstated since an increase in refugee arrivals beginning in 2015. Some nationals do not need to get the Schengen visa 2020 to enter the Schengen area. Originally, the concept of free movement was to enable the European working population to freely travel and settle in any EU State, but it fell short of abolishing border controls within the Union. Romania's Prime Minister, Ludovic Orban, has underlined in Munich the legitimacy of Romania's aspirations to join the Schengen Area as the country has long met all the technical accession criteria. 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