European Parliament to put to vote resolution for full Schengen membership for Bulgaria and Romania

The Committee on Petitions in the European Parliament today, March 19, unanimously adopted a draft resolution, which says that granting full Schengen membership to Bulgaria and Romania is the solution to the long queues of heavy goods vehicles at the EU's internal borders.

The accumulation of lorries at borders could have a detrimental impact on drivers' health and working conditions, road safety and the functioning of the EU single market, MEPs argue. They also note the impact on the health of European citizens through air, water and noise pollution.

In a draft resolution, members of the petitions committee call for EU action to tackle long waiting times for heavy goods vehicles at EU borders and urge the Council to decide quickly on full Schengen membership for Romania and Bulgaria.

MEPs point out that due to various factors such as insufficient technical capacity, staff shortages and time-consuming cargo checks, hundreds of freight vehicles are held up every day at the EU's internal borders, including at the borders between Schengen and non-Schengen EU Member States.

Romania and Bulgaria should become full members of Schengen in 2024, MEPs say. They note that on 30 December 2023. The Council decided to abolish air and sea border controls between the Schengen area and Romania and Bulgaria. However, the decision does not address the biggest and most pressing problem, namely the land border crossings, where checks remain at the Schengen land border. MEPs therefore reiterate their support for Bulgaria and Romania joining the Schengen area. In particular, the Council should adopt a decision on the full implementation of the Schengen acquis in Romania and Bulgaria as soon as possible and no later than mid-2024, MEPs argue.

To tackle problems at borders, MEPs advocate for binding EU legislation on an EU-wide standard of an average of one minute for processing heavy goods vehicles at border crossings within the EU. They are calling for legislation allowing truck drivers to use smaller border crossings when main arteries are closed for road maintenance to avoid drivers depending on arbitrary actions by individual countries and further efforts by EU countries to strengthen cross-border cooperation to combat theft from trucks.

The proposal for a resolution will be tabled at the next plenary session of the European Parliament.