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Brussels/Bratislava – The expansion of the Schengen area is justified, stated the State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, Lucia Kurilovská, after Thursday’s meeting of the EU Council for Justice and Home Affairs in Brussels, where it was decided that Bulgaria and Romania will become full members of the Schengen area from January 1, 2025, reports the TASR correspondent.
Kurilovská described this moment as historic also because both countries have been trying for 13 years to gain full membership in Schengen and have gradually been able to meet all the necessary requirements.
“Slovakia has supported Bulgaria’s and Romania’s entry into the Schengen area from the very beginning, and now this reality has occurred. Hungary, within its presidency in the Council of the EU, set it as a significant goal; it was also present at the initial accession negotiations, and it succeeded,” she said.
Kurilovská agrees with the European Commission’s view that the larger Schengen is, the stronger the EU is.
“The larger and wider the Schengen area is, the safer it is and more it allows for the free movement of goods, services, and people. All public surveys show that it is justified,” explained the State Secretary.
However, some countries, in the meantime, due to illegal migration from third countries, are extending border controls within the Schengen area, and others, like the Netherlands, have just introduced them.
Kurilovská stated that the Council of Ministers also dealt with this topic, and according to her, the introduction of such controls means “a certain discomfort” within Schengen.
“Therefore, we must strive for significant protection and security of the external borders and all the facts related to it, such as the introduction of digitization, the implementation and use of all information systems that we have set up. Slovakia is ready for this,” Kurilovská stated. (December 12)
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