Romania Has Low Chances of Entering Schengen Area in December

As days pass, it becomes clearer that Romania will not be accepted to Schengen this December. There are quite a few points to consider when betting on the country’s chances to join this free economic area.

Strong vs. Weak Points for Romania to join Schengen area

Some vital points favour Romania’s joining the free economic area, but also some hinder the country’s

Strong points favouring Romania’s accession to Schengen

The European Parliament voted for the country’s accession.

Five times actually, the last vote was offered this month. But the Parliament’s vote functions only as a recommendation. The final decision belongs to the European Council.

Most European countries will vote for Romania and Bulgaria to be accepted.

According to the latest sources, most EU countries will vote for Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia to be accepted.

The Romanian Government has been actively campaigning for the country to join the Schengen area.

The Romania Government has actively promoted the country, especially after all technical criteria to join Schengen were met.

Weak points that hinder Romania from joining the Schengen area

The Netherlands and Austria strongly oppose Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen.

Both the Netherlands and Austria strongly oppose Romania and Bulgaria when it comes to joining the Schengen area. Their reason for doing this is that these countries cannot stop the immigrant waves. According to the official statements, most of the thousands of immigrants entering Europe come through Romania and Bulgaria without being stopped at the border. Recently, the Austrian Chancellor specifically named Croatia as the only country to be supported by its government, unlike Romania and Bulgaria.

If one or more countries oppose this, Romania won’t be accepted in the Schengen area.

Even the Romanian president prepares the citizens for a failure

In a recent statement, Klaus Iohannis, Romania’s president, suggested that Romania shouldn’t force a vote on December 8th, motivating the European Council not to be so eager to admit Romania in the Schengen area this time. Moreover, the decision might be postponed to a month or two until all the other countries’ inquiries are addressed.

We will see if Romania or Bulgaria are to be accepted or not. But until then, we can do nothing more than wait for the next European Council vote.

Moreover, desperation reached an unprecedented level in Romania, where an MP threatened to block the Netherlands’ interests in Romania if the country was not accepted in Schengen.