Schengen without Bulgaria in January 2014

In December, in front of a French TV channel the President of the European Commission Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso confirmed that Romania and Bulgaria will not enter the passport free travel zone of Schengen. He explained that both countries are technically ready to become members of the Schengen agreement for a long time, yet they were still left outside the visa free zone. The official announcement was unpleasant news for Romania and Bulgaria, yet nothing that the two countries have not expected. For a year already, the entry in Schengen for Bulgaria and Romania have been used for the domestic political purposes of certain political figures in Germany, the Netherlands and France.

Despite the fail to enter the Schengen area Bulgaria and Romania faced a drop of all barriers that stood in front of their citizens as far as employment is concerned. In other words, since January 1st all people from Bulgaria and Romania have access to the employment markets of the rest of the European Union member countries. Even so, the accession of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen zone requires separate decision that should be taken by the Council of the European Union. There are expectations that talks about that situation will continue in the future until the two countries are finally accepted in the border control free zone of Schengen.