Austria blocked

Hungary expects Schengen enlargement in December

Hungary's head of government Viktor Orbán wants to conclude his presidency of the EU Council with the expansion of the Schengen area.

(Bild: APA/AFP/JOE KLAMAR)

According to the Hungarian government, both Romania and Bulgaria are "ready for Schengen". The current EU presidency therefore expects the admission of the two countries to the Schengen area to be sealed in December. So far, the government in Wein has put the brakes on this issue.

Both Romania and Bulgaria have shown that they protect their borders, explained the Deputy State Secretary for European Policy, Balázs Molnár, on the fringes of an event in Vienna on Thursday. Illegal border crossings from Hungary and Slovakia had also decreased. He hoped that Austria would also take a look at these new reports, said the Deputy State Secretary. Schengen is not only a security issue, but also an economic one.

No boycott of the EU summit in November?
The Hungarian government representative expects a "full house" for the informal EU summit on November 7/8 in Budapest. There are no indications of cancellations, not even from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Molnár said he was "not happy" that the EU Commission had boycotted its participation in meetings in Hungary.

Von der Leyen had thus reacted to the unilateral actions of Hungarian head of government Viktor Orbán in Ukraine policy; several EU states had also stayed away from meetings in Hungary. A "Budapest Declaration" on the competitiveness of the EU is to be adopted at the informal EU summit at the beginning of November. 

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner

(Bild: APA/TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

Karner: "Not yet at the end of the road"
Austria is currently blocking the full admission of Bulgaria and Romania, which have been members of "Air Schengen" since the end of March. Air and sea border controls have thus been lifted. Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner stated at the last Council meeting in Luxembourg two weeks ago that he did not believe the time was yet ripe for Romania and Bulgaria to join Schengen: "We are on the right track, but not at the end of the road."

Brunner wants to "complete" Schengen as Commissioner
Finance Minister Magnus Brunner, who has been nominated as EU Commissioner for Migration, names the "completion of the Schengen area" as one of his priorities should he actually be allowed to take up office in Brussels. This emerges from minutes of the EU Parliament, where Brunner responded to various questions from MEPs.