The European Union Parliament has adopted a new resolution urging the EU Council to take seriously the question of Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Schengen area and to allow the two countries to join the borderless zone before the end of the year.
In a press release published on Wednesday (July 12), Parliament revealed that the new resolution, which highlights that both countries meet all the necessary criteria to join Schengen, was supported by 526 MPs, while only 57 opposed it. .
According to him, keeping Bulgaria and Romania outside the Schengen area is socially and economically detrimental to the populations and businesses of these two countries, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
“Bulgarian and Romanian citizens face discrimination as they face delays, bureaucratic difficulties and additional costs when traveling or doing business abroad, compared to their Schengen area counterparts.“, further specifies the resolution.
He also points out that Romanians and Bulgarians are subject to delays when crossing borders which vary from a few hours, or even several days, compared to the average of only ten minutes experienced by nationals of Schengen countries.
The resolution also concludes that keeping Bulgaria and Romania out of Schengen not only harms the EU single market by hindering the free movement of goods between member states, but also affects the environment.
“The health of drivers, customs officers and people living near border crossings is threatened by increasing pollution caused by the thousands of vehicles waiting to cross the border every day, as around 46,000 tonnes of CO2 are emitted each year .», Say the deputies.
SchengenVisaInfo.com also previously reported that keeping Romania and Bulgaria out of the borderless zone is harmful to the environmentbecause road vehicles waiting at border controls emit an estimated volume of more than 46,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
According to a publication by KPMG Romania, this translates to the need for 311,00 mature trees to purify the air, which is equivalent to more than 56 million kWh of coal-based electricity.
In their newly adopted resolution, MEPs once again criticized the Council for not granting membership to these two countries on December 8, 2022, saying this had been done “without presenting any legal justification linked to the membership criteria.”
Romania and Bulgaria, along with Ireland and Cyprus, remain the last EU member states outside the Schengen zone. While Ireland refused to join in 1985, Cyprus still cannot join due to its problems with Northern Cyprus.
The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area was supported by two of the three main EU institutions, the Commission and the Parliament.
>> Report claims Bulgaria and Romania will join Schengen zone in October 2023
