MEPs stress that Bulgaria and Romania have already fulfilled the necessary requirements to be admitted into Schengen and call on Council to approve their accession by the end of 2023, in a resolution adopted on Wednesday during the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg, with 526 votes in favour, 57 votes against, and 42 abstentions. They also express their regret for the Council's decision of 8 December 2022 to reject their membership 'without presenting any legal justification related to accession criteria'. Currently, all EU member states except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania are part of the Schengen free-travel area, which also includes non-EU states Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. According to the EP, the fact that Romania and Bulgaria are still outside the visa-free travel area burdens the businesses and populations of the two countries socially and economically. Citizens of Bulgaria and Romania are discriminated against, as they face delays, bureaucratic difficulties and additional costs when travelling or doing business abroad, compared to their counterparts in the Schengen area, says the text. MEPs note that the delays at border crossings faced by Romanians and Bulgarians can last from a few hours to even days -compared to an average of 10 minutes without internal border checks- which also worsens working conditions for truck drivers. In addition to the harm caused to the EU single market by obstructing the free flow of goods between European member states, the text points to the "irreparable damages" to the environment, which do not align with the European Union's climate neutrality goals. The health of drivers, customs agents and people living near border crossings is endangered by the increased pollution from the many thousands of vehicles waiting to cross the border each day as around 46.000 tonnes of CO2 are emitted each year, MEPs say. The resolution calls on the Commission to estimate the opportunity costs and the environmental damage that Romania and Bulgaria have suffered since June 2011 due to the 'unjustified denial' of Schengen membership and encourages them to analyse options for financial compensation.
Source: Cyprus News Agency