Commissioner Johannes Hahn expects Vienna will lift its veto against Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen accession in due time, paving the way for the country to repair its image, according to Euractiv.
In December 2022, Austria, strongly focused on migration issues, blocked Bulgaria and Romania from joining Schengen, the EU’s special zone devoid of border checks. While Croatia was allowed in, Sofia and Bucharest were outraged.
“In the relatively foreseeable future both countries can become members of Schengen,” Hahn told public broadcaster ORF on Sunday. A first step could be made for flights, he added.
At the time, Austrian observers attributed Vienna’s veto to the upcoming regional elections in Lower Austria on 29 January, the conservative ÖVP’s heartland. Hahn himself hails from the conservative party but is largely removed from domestic politics due to two successive terms as commissioner in Brussels.
Hahn conceded that Austria’s image had “definitely” suffered in Bulgaria and Romania as a result of the veto, “but that is fixable,” he insisted.
While he was “not happy” with the veto, Hahn noted that the influx of asylum applicants Austria experienced, some 80,000 unregistered, was an issue he acknowledged.
Going forward, the EU would have to ensure that accession candidate visa policy aligned 100% with the bloc, the Austrian Commissioner stressed.
In 2022, Serbia’s decision to allow visa-free travel for Indians and Tunisians saw a serious spike in asylum applications from citizens of these countries.