Around the borders: whether Bulgaria and Romania will finally join Schengen, how Romania and Ukraine rediscovered each other and should we expect a turn in Poland's foreign policy
An unexpected proposal by Austria on accepting Bulgaria and Romania into Schengen reignited debates about when and how these two EU states could also become members of the free movement zone. To be exact, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner has announced that Austria is ready to remove borders for air traffic from Bulgaria and Romania. The land borders will retain their current status, as Bulgaria and Romania will not be officially Schengen members. The price? Hosting refugees from Syria and Afghanistan in both countries, a three-fold increase in Frontex presence in Bulgaria and intensified controls at the Romanian-Bulgarian and Romanian-Hungarian borders.
Vladimir Mitev, Cross-Border Talks co-founder and a journalist who feels connected to both Bulgaria and Romania, asked one Bulgarian and one Romanian to comment on the proposal.
It is worthwhile for the two countries, Bulgaria and Romania, to take a coordinated approach to this issue. What needs to be negotiated are the conditions formulated by the Austrian side, because they are, to put it bluntly, strange. The question of receiving refugees from Afghanistan and Syria is not the subject of Austria’s bilateral relations with either Bulgaria or Romania. Solving the asylum problem for migrants has nothing to do with Schengen. It depends on the adoption of the migrant package at European level, which has been blocked for years
- Lyubomir Kyuchukov, a veteran analyst of international relations from Bulgaria, tells him.
At this point, we recommend to (re)watch a still valid talk with Kyuchukov we recorded in June 2023 - on regional cooperation, prospects of Ukraine war and Turkish politics in the Black Sea.
Răzvan Nicolescu is a former Romanian energy minister and current president of the Clean Energy and Climate Change Association. The NGO he founded is the author of a petition calling for Romania and Bulgaria to be admitted to the Schengen area, the theses of which were supported by over 80% of MEPs on 12 July 2023 (see more details here).
- Checking on the border between Greece and Bulgaria, on the border between Bulgaria and Romania, on the border between Romania and Hungary, is a waste of resources. We must protect our borders with problems, not waste resources. Why keep hundreds of policemen on the border with Bulgaria or on the border with Hungary, when Bulgaria should also send policemen to the border with Turkey, to reinforce the protection on the border with Turkey, together with Frontex policemen?
- he comments on the Austrian proposal.
Donald Tusk is now officially the prime minister of Poland, and we also know the composition of his government. Małgorzata Kulbaczewska-Figat comments on what can we expect from the old-new Polish leader and his wide coalition, involving both social-democrats and conservative Catholics. Would the social transfer policy be revoked? What would be the main directions of a revised foreign policy? It goes without a doubt that Tusk’s aim is to restore Poland’s prestige in Europe and close the neverending debates with Brussels. His pro-Ukrainian stance also seems to be strong and convincing.
While politics of Poland has just come on turning, the Russian conservative course is alive and well. Recently, as Veronika Susova-Salminen writes, it also gained an additional anti-feminist face. While men are to be ready to fight and die for their homeland, women should give up professional or public ambition and focus on giving birth instead.
Romanian-Ukrainian relations used to be really tough, with both territorial, historical and identity issues. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, Romania became one of the key allies of Kyiv. Political scientist Laurențiu Pleșca tells us more about this transformation, points out how both countries interact with other neighbours as well, and what are the potential issues for the future that should be resolved to continue the good relations.