Sweden EU presidency: Schengen expansion depends on Austria, Netherlands
Sweden’s permanent representative to the EU, Lars Danielsson, whose country has taken over the rotating presidency of the union since January 1, has said that a reasonable chance of getting approval in the Council for Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen adoption depends primarily “on the parties involved,” according to Novinite.bg.
“We see no point in putting it on the agenda until it is clear that there is a reasonable chance of getting approval in the Council. So we will try to do this during the Swedish Presidency, but I cannot guarantee that it will happen .” he stated.
Last December, Austria and the Netherlands blocked the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. If, as suggested, Austria insists on allowing Schengen enlargement only after a suitable immigration arrangement is reached, this would delay Romania’s bid until at least next year.
Quoted by Impakter.comSweden’s permanent representative to the EU Danielsson has said that while new policies will be developed in the next six months “with full force”, there will be no completed migration pact under the Swedish presidency, and probably not before 2024.
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