site.btaMEP Dan Barna: Romania and Bulgaria Are Discriminated against for Schengen

Romanian MEP Dan Barna (Renew Europe) told BTA's Martina Gancheva that Romania and Bulgaria are being discriminated against for Schengen. In his view, the fact that the two countries are kept outside the Schengen area is a betrayal of Europe as well.

The politician is sceptical that the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg on October 10 will make a decision about lifting the Schengen land border controls for Bulgaria and Romania.

"The fact that there is a discussion on the subject is a good thing, but it does not mean much, because judging from the signs coming from Austria, it will not change its position," Barna said.

Following is Barna's interview with BTA:

Mr Barna, the new session of the European Parliament has started with a heated debate on Schengen. Is the Schengen area in danger? Would you comment on Germany's decision to introduce border controls at all its land borders?

I would not say that Schengen is in danger, but the discussions on a revision of the Schengen area come against the backdrop of a rise in extremism across Europe. When society is in crisis, extremism grows. The crisis due to the war, the economic crisis, the energy crisis, the COVID crisis. In such times, people look for magical solutions, easy solutions, shortcuts to solving problems. A shortcut is to impose internal border controls. But this is disrespectful of a shared commitment that we have made.

There are two aspects to the subject of Schengen: the Schengen Agreement and its consequences. In this connection, I would like to say that Romania and Bulgaria are being discriminated against. Austria continues to keep us out of the Schengen area, which has a major economic impact, as economic agencies and traders from both countries cannot benefit from large sums of money. Everything is impacted: that means extremism and a rising wave of nationalism. 

The fact that Romanians and Bulgarians are kept out of the Schengen area is a betrayal of Europe as well. Yes, we are talking about the discontent of Austria in particular, but it is accepted as fact that the EU has not kept its word on two Member States which have met their obligations.

Do Bulgaria and Romania have a useful course of action in this complicated situation? Aren't you afraid that it will become more complicated? For instance, Austria has threatened to refuse to take back migrants turned back from the German border. 

Yes, Austria has a discriminatory and unfair position against the treaties and rules by which the EU operates. Anyway, Bulgaria should keep up the diplomatic pressure that the two governments ought to have exerted in recent years.

The Romanian President, who is on his second term and is responsible for foreign policy, has been an absolute tourist. He went home only to change his suitcase between trips: from South America, from countries with resorts on the coast of Africa, from Japan. The Romanian President was doing all kinds of things except going round the Member States and doing what was necessary, like putting pressure, so that we could see some development on the Schengen file. You have heard of Murphy's law - it takes a very long time to solve something you are not working on. This is exactly how things stand. The Romanian government has done none of things it should have done. Now we hope that after the elections in Romania at the end of November, we will have a government  in December, a government in which at least the level of technical competence will be higher and the issue will really become a priority. 

Do you expect a final decision on lifting the Schengen land border controls for Bulgaria and Romania at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg on October 10? On Monday we heard Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who called for Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession by land. Will it happen?

I hope the matter will be put to the vote on October 10. The fact that there is a discussion on this subject on the agenda is a good thing, but it does not mean much because we can see from the signs coming from Austria that it will not change its position. As an MEP, I am not very optimistic. I am trying not to lose hope, but I do not expect a decision to be reached. 

Do you plan to act jointly, to take diplomatic moves with your fellow MEPs from Bulgaria?

We have had joint initiatives with colleagues from the Renew Group and [Bulgarian MEP] Ilhan Kyuchyuk in an attempt to have a more sustainable and credible voice on Schengen. Last weekend, I was in Portugal, at an ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) congress, and I had a resolution supported by a large majority of all the liberal and democratic forces in Europe, a resolution initiated with colleagues from Bulgaria, with Ilhan Kyuchyuk and with the NEOS (New Austria) party, which supports Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen entry. We have used all the levers at our disposal.