Although Germany is a member of the European Union’s Schengen free movement zone, the country will impose border controls with France from July 26 to August 11 due to the Olympic Games in Paris.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser met with her Romanian counterpart to discuss the countries’ cooperation on migration and asylum. As part of efforts to fully join the borderless Schengen zone, Bulgaria and Romania have recently made progress in protecting the EU’s external borders.
After more than ten years of waiting: Bulgaria and Romania have been given the green light to join Europe’s free-travel Schengen area by air and sea from March 2024. However, some restrictions will remain in place.
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that the decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine was being overrated. The Dutch government has decided to lift its veto on Bulgaria joining the Schengen area. The EU is supporting an Albanian awareness campaign aimed at informing travellers about the rules for transporting money in and out of the country.
A number of countries including Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia have announced new controls along their borders. They are trying to prevent people smugglers from using routes through the Balkans to bring migrants to Central and Western Europe. This puts pressure on the Schengen area of free movement and visa-free arrangements with third countries.