Schengen Area

The enlargement to include Bulgaria and Romania from January 1, 2025 will be confirmed by EU interior ministers in Brussels today. Austria announced on Monday that it will no longer block the full accession of the two countries. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, comments for ČRo Plus.

At their meeting in Brussels today, EU interior ministers are expected to approve the full admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area from January 1, next year. Austria, a long-time critic of such a move, has confirmed it will not oppose it. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, commented live in Czech TV daily broadcast.

Migration will be one of the main issues in the European Parliament elections. Experts say the newly approved migration pact will not save the European Union, but strengthening controls at the external border of the Schengen area would help. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the migration issue for the main evening broadcast on TV Nova.

Will the migration pact make it compulsory for the Czech Republic to accept refugees? Will the pact limit the flow of refugees into Europe? Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, discussed this on Czech Television's programme Máte slovo.

The Schengen area of free movement of goods and persons will was extended to Romania and Bulgaria from Sunday 31 March. The two countries have been waiting seventeen years for this moment, since they joined the European Union. For now, only the maritime and air borders are removed, but land borders should follow in the next few months. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, commented on both the economic benefits and possible risks of partial enlargement for the daily e15.

In an interview for RTVS, Vladimír Bartovic commented on the Schengen Area and the project 'Back to Schengen', where some of the EU states should terminate their border controls. He did so for Slovak RTVS with main topics being EU Schengen Area and immigration policy.