Romania and Bulgaria close to Schengen status 

Romanians and Bulgarians can travel without a passport to most European countries from March if they do it via plane or boat. Until recently, the Netherlands objected to Bulgaria as a Schengen country because they had previously not sufficiently combated corruption and organized crime.

Full admission to the Schengen zone, which also eliminates passport control when traveling abroad, is not yet possible due to objections from Austria in particular. The two countries have wanted admission to the Schengen area for years but were blocked due to resistance from other members. Austria was against the participation of both countries.

Austria mainly fears the rise in migrants that would come into the EU via the two countries, and therefore, only agreed on Saturday to open the borders in airports and harbors. Vienna wants the European Union to first pay for strengthening its borders and demands that Romania and Bulgaria take in migrants from Syria and Afghanistan.