The Council of the EU: Bulgaria becomes a member of the Schengen area with the abolition of internal air and sea border controls from March 2024

From the end of March 2024, the control of the air and sea borders with the countries of the Schengen area will be abolished. This was voted by the Council of the European Union (EU) unanimously on 30.12.2023 late in the evening. Earlier in the day, Austria lifted its veto on the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen, and a week before that, the Dutch parliament lifted its long-standing veto against Bulgaria. This was announced this evening by the press service of the Council of Ministers.

In its decision, the Council commits to working towards the abolition of checks at the land borders in the Schengen area as well.

In a joint tripartite declaration with Austria, the commitments of Bulgaria and Romania to strengthen the functioning of Schengen were also outlined. Separately, the European Commission (EC) with its declaration undertook to support Bulgaria and Romania in the protection of the external borders of the EU. Bulgaria will receive significant financial support from the European Commission, as well as operational and technical assistance from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) along the Bulgarian-Turkish and Bulgarian-Serbian borders.

Contrary to the disinformation spread in recent days, Bulgaria does not accept additional conditions related to refugees from Syria and Afghanistan. Bulgaria undertakes to work together with Austria and Romania to limit secondary movements in compliance with European legislation. This includes strict implementation of the Dublin Regulation and readmission of persons registered as seeking international protection in Bulgaria and for whom Bulgaria is responsible. This obligation under the Dublin Regulation has been directly applicable in each Member State since 2013 and is linked to the rule on the responsibility of the country of first entry into the EU. The commitment that is being made is for enhanced cooperation with an accelerated pace of work and without unnecessary formalities. Bulgaria does not and cannot accept persons for whom it is not responsible.

The tripartite declaration commits to discussing a date for the abolition of land border controls in 2024.

The member states of the Schengen area, for which internal air and sea border controls will be abolished from March 2024, are all Schengen members - Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, respectively, and Romania.

*According to the Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers cannot choose the country in which they are granted protection and their application must be processed by the Member State solely responsible.