"This is real solidarity, not migrant quotas," pointed out the Fidesz EP representative.

At the beginning of the year, Romania and Bulgaria partially joined the Schengen area, as a result of which the number of illegal border crossings at their external borders decreased by 80 percent, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson pointed out in the European Parliament on Tuesday in Strasbourg.

In the framework of the plenary debate on the full Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania, Johansson praised the fact that the Austrian, Bulgarian and Romanian interior ministers reached an important agreement at the informal ministerial meeting in Budapest on Friday led by the Hungarian presidency,

in the light of which checks on the land borders of these two member states will be abolished from January, after they were permanently abolished at the sea and air borders at the beginning of the year.

"I expect that the Hungarian presidency will propose to the Council in December that land border controls in Romania and Bulgaria cease on the first day of next year. That is why we work together for this goal, we continue to take concrete measures on the ground against illegal migration, we fight against human traffickers, we build and invest in our common security," he emphasized.

András László, the Fidesz EP representative, pointed out in his speech that the Hungarian EU presidency is on the verge of a historic agreement: after joining the EU in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania can become full members of the Schengen zone from January 1.

The Hungarian EU presidency negotiated hard to lift the 13-year-old veto.

The accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen will put an end to the disgraceful situation where European citizens on both sides of the borders cannot enjoy the same free movement that hundreds of millions of other citizens do. On the other hand, part of the deal is that a joint multinational police contingent will help protect the new external Schengen borders from illegal migrants," he stated.

According to András László, this is the good solution to the migration crisis, not closing the internal borders.

"This is real solidarity, not migrant quotas. This is the future of EU migration policy, not the punishment of member states. Let's make Europe great again, protect our external borders together, so that all Europeans within the Schengen area can enjoy the benefits of free movement. And let's keep economic migrants out," concluded the representative.

MTI

Cover image source: Gondola.hu