Alexandru-Ionuț Drăgulin: Full accession to the Schengen Area can transform Romania, Bulgaria and their region

Vladimir Mitev

Alexandru Drăgulin is a researcher and political science expert at the Romanian Diplomatic Institute. He provides expertise in areas such as good governance, democracy and the rule of law in Europe, contemporary politics and history of Romania and its neighborhood.

In this interview Alexandru Drăgulin explains what the full accession to the Schengen area means for Bulgaria and Romania – geopolitically, economically, in terms of border controls and in terms of their strategic partnership. He also comments on the role of Hungary for this full accession to the Schengen area and on the significance of Hungary for the two countries.

Alexandru Drăgulin gave this interview to the Bulgarian-Romanian blog Bridge of Friendship at the end of December 2024.

Mr. Drăgulin, we begin our discussion on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area. This accession took place 13 years after both countries fulfilled the technical conditions for accession. So there has not been sufficient political will on the part of the Schengen area members for their accession in the last 13 years.

If we look at the purely geopolitical or relations aspect within the European Union and within the Schengen area, what comments do you have on this delayed accession and what does it mean in the current geopolitical conditions?

I would like to make a political-legal observation, first of all, namely that accession to the Schengen area is not necessarily a right of each Member State of the European Union or a political ‘gift’ that it receives from the European Council or from another Member State, but it is a compulsory step in the process of full European integration. In fact, accession to the Schengen area is the last step in the integration process of free internal movement of goods, persons, services and capital. To integrate further and further into the Union, and that includes, of course, also full free movement between the two states, that is to say accession to the Schengen area.

The theoretical observation about what the Schengen area actually is helps us, because it is the most advanced stage of European integration in terms of free movement within the Union. Belonging to this geographical, geopolitical area without internal border controls means that:

1. No checks are carried out at the internal borders of member countries, but the focus is on securing the Union’s external borders, and

2. Harmonized checks are carried out at their internal borders on the basis of clearly defined criteria.

This set of rules and criteria governing the Schengen area is called the Schengen Borders Code, which has been updated several times by the European institutions and has been adapted to the challenges and new conditions that have arisen over time, for example trafficking in human beings, arms trafficking, illegal immigration due to conflicts in the geographical neighborhood, the increase in terrorist threats and so on.

With regard to this major achievement, so to speak, of Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, I would like to add an aspect which relates to the history of bilateral relations between the two countries. In the past, Romania and Bulgaria had a period of conflict, as we are well aware, but with the end of the Cold War and the definition of the two states’ essential objective of integrating into the European Union, these relations took a completely different course. Accession to the Schengen area has unified even more, so to speak, the eternal political objectives, and here I am referring more specifically and in detail to economic policy, trade policies, import and export between the two states, the movement of people for tourism or business purposes and so on. But, indeed, joining the Schengen area also brings a political challenge, especially in this very complicated context with the outbreak of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

This invasion was also a major turning point for the European Union because it accelerated the process of integrating countries which are already members… The Member States of the European Union and the institutions have realized that it is no longer useful to postpone indefinitely integration processes which are already under way, and here I am referring to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area. Yes, indeed, the European Union needs Romania and Bulgaria in order to be fully integrated into this area of free movement, especially in view of the fact that both countries are on the European Union’s border with the Eastern area, which is dominated by hybrid conflicts and instability.

From this point of view too, Romania and Bulgaria have a huge responsibility to ensure the security of the EU’s external borders. In this context, I can say that security at the EU’s external borders implicitly means Romania and Bulgaria’s own security. It is therefore a mutually interconnected relationship.

What implications does this Schengen accession have for both countries?

If Romania and Bulgaria are members of the Schengen area, then the security of the external borders of the two countries must also be proportional. This is to the extent that the two countries will be able to fully apply the Schengen acquis. It is a responsibility for the interior ministries, which will implement the rules and regulations, and for the relations between the institutions in both countries and their counterparts in other Schengen countries.

So what does full membership mean? On Schengen, there were particularities, namely accession in stages. Accession was achieved first at air and sea borders and then at land borders. And in order to achieve these two stages, which were achieved by a political consensus between the candidate countries and the somewhat more Eurosceptic countries, such as the Netherlands and Austria in our case, very thorough interinstitutional cooperation was of course necessary.

Secondly, I would like to mention an aspect which is already well known, namely that Romania and Bulgaria have been analyzed “as a package” by the responsible European institutions and by all the member countries.

Therefore, one country could not join without the other. This “package” analysis meant that both countries had to evolve simultaneously at the same pace in order to be admitted at the same time. As far as the collaboration between the responsible institutions of the two countries is concerned, I must emphasize that it was a major success.

So, this achievement, a major objective of joining together, has pushed the two states to implement the necessary reforms at a much more advanced pace.

In this regard, temporary controls will be carried out at land borders for a limited period of 6 months to confirm the effectiveness with which European Schengen legislation is applied. The EU applies to all member countries a Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring Mechanism Regulation, adopted in 2022. Each Member State receives an annual report containing strengths and weaknesses, together with solutions to address shortcomings. For countries newly acceded to Schengen, the complete lifting of internal border controls is only done after confirmation in an evaluation and monitoring report, which is carried out in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation mechanism and concludes that all conditions for the correct application of the Schengen acquis measures allowing the lifting of internal border control are in place. The measure is adopted by a unanimous vote in the European Council. In May 2024, the European Council adopted an updated version of the Schengen Borders Code. The reform is essential to make the Schengen area more resilient to present and future crises at its external borders.

On the basis of the quadripartite declaration signed in November this year by Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which provides for the maintenance of land border controls at the land borders between Romania and Bulgaria for at least 6 months, the Schengen Borders Code is also being applied.

Well, before full accession, there were several complaints from road hauliers from both countries, but also several complaints from businessmen, that losses are being generated, pollution is being generated and so on. How does full Schengen membership change the situation in both countries or will it change the situation economically?

Of course, it is expected that this accession with land borders will also bring a change for the better in the movement of goods between Romania and Bulgaria, between Romania and Hungary and, of course, between Bulgaria and Hungary via Romania. There have, over the years, been constant and fully justified complaints from Romanian and Bulgarian hauliers about the long waiting times at border checkpoints.

I believe that, on the basis of the data available to us, there will be positive aspects in terms of the land transport of goods. Transit times between Romania and Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, Bulgaria and Hungary will be made more efficient.

EU citizens, especially those of Romania and Bulgaria, will have quicker access to imported goods, but there will also be an opportunity for Romania and Bulgaria to increase their exports to the European Union through Hungary. At the moment, as far as the economic situation is concerned, Romania still has some work to do in terms of the volume of exports to Hungary and Bulgaria, but I believe that if more investment is made in Romania and if domestic producers are stimulated by the government through appropriate measures, this aspect can be remedied.

There is another aspect I would like to mention here: on the political side, Romania and Bulgaria are in a rather ambiguous situation. Bulgaria wants, of course, to resolve the political instability as quickly as possible and to have a stable government in the long term. Romania also wants to resolve this political uncertainty.

But I believe that it will be resolved with the election of the country’s new president in the spring of 2025 and also to have a long-term government, a government which, among its major economic objectives, has this target of increasing the volume of trade with the European Union. Precisely because of accession to the Schengen Area.

You know the data from these surveys – Eurobarometer – and you know the attitudes in Romania and in European countries in general on several topics of European importance, such as, for example, orientation towards the European Union or towards Western Europe and so on.

How did the situation where Romania and Bulgaria were outside full Schengen membership affect attitudes in both countries towards the European project, and how do you expect full membership to influence the same attitudes?

First of all, this long process of accession to the Schengen Area, and I am referring here to Romania, from the data that I know, has to a large extent fuelled Euroscepticism and even the temptation to give more trust to extremist parties and movements, extremist leaders and, in general, movements which are opposed to the current political model of the European Union. Indeed, citizens have been waiting throughout the 13 years for their expectations to be met because, as you said, the technical conditions were met as early as 2011. However, we also needed a full political agreement, a political consensus among all the Member States for accession.

Over time, Member States have probably not paid enough attention to this aspect of the proliferation of extremism in the Union as a side effect of the failure to speed up the integration process. I would like to mention that, from this angle, citizens’ positive perception of the European Union is directly proportional to the pace of European integration. This process of European integration also has a very well-defined role in democratic resilience, if we consider the theory of democratization through Europeanization.

But this democratization through Europeanization depends on the pace of Europeanization and the political consensus between governments. However, the Eurobarometers and internal polls carried out in Romania have shown that two thirds of the two thirds who support the governmental consensus for accession, Romania had a high level of understanding for the benefits offered by the Schengen area. I would like to detail here that an INSCOP poll carried out in April 2004 in Romania describes the context very well.

The data show that 30% of Romanians believed at the time that Romania had not yet been admitted to the Schengen area with its land borders because our country did not meet all the necessary criteria. And 60% of respondents at the time were of the opinion that Romania has met all the criteria, but some European countries are blocking its full access to Schengen for economic reasons.

Economic, not political reasons. By age group, the situation was as follows: 62% of 18-29 year olds shared this view, 52% of 30-44 year olds and 58% of 45-59 year olds, plus 68% of over 60 year olds.

Also, with regard to the distribution by level of education, these opinions I mentioned above were shared by 42% of people with primary education, 63% of those with secondary education and 61% of those with higher education, who believe that Romania has met all the criteria, but some European countries, such as the Netherlands and Austria in our case, are blocking the country’s full accession to Schengen for mainly economic reasons.

The same opinion was held by 55% of people with low and very low incomes, 60% of those with medium incomes and 68% of those with high and very high incomes. However, the frustration of the population was at a high level at that time, and in this sense, the interpretation of these survey data leads to the conclusion that the majority of Romanians were of the opinion that the partial accession to the Schengen area, i.e. without land borders, was caused by the blockade of some European countries towards Romania. In other words, people considered that certain European states had something against Romania.

These political opinions have nothing to do with the technical conditions of accession, and the frustration of the population on this subject remained high and fully justified, given that neither the blocking of access to the Schengen area for years on end, nor the partial accession, were explained in a credible and public manner by these few states, which were often hostile to Romania and Bulgaria. And at the time of the survey, in April 2004, this general feeling of the population was also amplified by the fact that at that time only one country, Austria, was blocking accession with its land borders, while the rest of the Member States and all the European institutions involved in the Schengen accession process repeatedly expressed their support for the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area.

To conclude on this very important aspect of the role of public opinion in the adoption of political decisions by all the European institutions, I can say that, yes, there was an undesirable side effect, namely this proliferation of extremism in the EU, which was seen in Romania in the end-of-year parliamentary and presidential elections.

The full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area also means a boost in bilateral relations. What could happen in these bilateral relations now that this extra energy will be “injected” into them? To what extent can we expect initiatives both from states and from citizens’ organizations, business people and so on?

Yes, indeed, this full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen can be an impetus for the two countries to strengthen their bilateral relations, both at the political and economic level and at the security level, I could say.

Of course, when I talk about the economic level, I mean all branches of the economy: industry, trade, transport, tourism and so on. We are well aware that at the economic level, tourism between the two countries, relations on this aspect of tourism are very good. In my opinion, joining the Schengen area will boost tourism.

In terms of the volume of commercial goods, yes, there is expected to be an increase, but for the time being we are waiting for the completion of the repairs to the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge. Once this bridge will be completely repaired, it is expected that the positive effects of Schengen accession will be fully seen in terms of free movement and the volume of movement of commercial goods.

As far as political relations between the EU Member States are concerned, the European Union has, over the years, acted as a driving force for bilateral relations between the Member States, especially as regards the most recent EU accession countries, Romania and Bulgaria, but also the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The European Union has facilitated the democratization of these countries, has facilitated the development of bilateral relations between these countries, which were to a certain extent frozen, held back by certain historical prejudices, a lack of political will, a certain reluctance of the institutions to get involved in each other. Just as the European Union has given impetus to the democratization of Romania and Bulgaria, it can, through full integration, give impetus to the development of the two countries in other areas, such as the economy.

But as far as bilateral relations between Romania and Bulgaria in particular are concerned, full accession to Schengen may provide an impetus for more bilateral projects to be implemented in various areas, niche issues. All that is needed is for both governments to have more vision, more strategy and more political will.

And, of course, above all, there must be government stability. Both countries have functioning governments for the long term. And, of course, to have a government with a pro-European vision.

You mentioned that the European Union is a factor that facilitates and encourages Romanian-Bulgarian relations and relations in the region. The war in Ukraine was the turning point that made Bucharest and Sofia rethink their relations, to look at them with new eyes. And as a result, a declaration of strategic partnership was signed between the two countries in 2023.

But are we not still seeing significant inertia in Romanian-Bulgarian relations? Does not the impetus for their replacement and further development still face traditional indifference, perhaps at the level of elites, perhaps at the level of peoples? And in this context where can the impetus come from, from which groups or organizations or institutions? Where can ideas and political will or will in general for deeper relations between Romanians and Bulgarians come from?

The war in Ukraine was a turning point for the European Union, because the Union was forced to set a direction for internal development and security in all that this means. The European Union was not built as a supranational organization primarily to ensure internal security, but started from economic and political foundations.

The European Union was and is primarily a politico-economic organization. It has its own political system, created to develop economic relations between member countries. The war in Ukraine has brought to the forefront the need to address the European Union’s security needs.

The European security environment is under continuous hybrid threats especially after 2022. We have a war very close to the border, we have hybrid threats, namely cyber-attacks, sabotage, sustained and extensive campaigns of disinformation, information manipulation and propaganda by the Russian Federation throughout the territory of the European Union, aimed at discouraging the pro-European attitude of citizens, at overturning the European Union’s value system, a pro-democratic value system.

Regarding the Romanian-Bulgarian bilateral relations, a strategic partnership was signed in 2023, which complements, strengthens and intensifies the bilateral relations between the two countries. However, the period since this treaty was signed is too short to fully assess the progress made in bilateral relations, but I believe that we should not stop at this stage. In the sense that time must be used. We can see that we are in an era in which we have returned to history, in which this slowness of political-diplomatic events has passed. Events are unfolding very rapidly, a rapidity that in many situations political leaders can no longer cope with because they do not adapt in time. Indeed, these strategic partnerships come to respond to this return to history and to help the two countries to react better to all future challenges: security and economic challenges, which are met by the intensification of political dialogue that is mentioned in the text of the partnership.

Romania and Bulgaria signed in March 2023 a joint declaration of strategic partnership. To what extent can we expect to fulfill its program after full accession to the Schengen area?

I would like to mention the provisions of the partnership in terms of deepening cross-border economic cooperation between the two countries. Provisions that can be fully implemented once Schengen accession is achieved.

I quote from the text: the strategic partnership calls for a considerable deepening of cross-border connectivity in the areas of transport, infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and so on. And the provision of this partnership in this context, the construction of the new bridge across the Danube on the Ruse-Giurgiu route, as well as the implementation of the Fast Danube project, which will bring significant benefits for both countries, for the Eastern European region. The joint partnership document added that Romania and Bulgaria will intensify their efforts to accelerate the realization of this project, which will continue to cooperate closely with the vision of implementing this concrete project in the field of connectivity.

In addition to the economic field, the strategic partnership is, of course, also related to the worrying developments in the Eastern Neighborhood. Taking the conflict in Ukraine as a starting point, the partnership assumes its responsibility to intensify bilateral dialog in the politico-military field. At all levels, there is an impetus to intensify bilateral defense cooperation at a practical level, not just at a declarative level, with a focus on areas such as military training and education, the equipping of both countries with military technology, military cyber security and, less discussed in the public arena, the protection and preservation of memorials.

In addition to military cooperation, the conflict in Ukraine has also brought home affairs cooperation back into the spotlight. This aspect is also explicitly mentioned in the text of the strategic partnership, with a focus on preventing and combating cross-border crime through intensified dialogues and operational activities at the level of the specialized structures of the authorities of both countries.

I would like to add a very important aspect also mentioned in the declaration. The two countries aim through this strategic partnership to contribute to the strengthening and development of European business. The European Union develops through the contribution of each individual member country. Therefore, by signing the strategic partnership, Romania and Bulgaria intend to continue the efforts they have undertaken to help the European Union become more cohesive by strengthening the common market and by developing the social, economic and environmental development, to the benefit of citizens. And here we refer in particular to the benefits for Romanians and Bulgarians.

Another aspect of European affairs mentioned in the strategic partnership is the need to have fair and balanced economic governance at European level, incorporating the basic principles of flexibility and cooperation between Member States. Aspects that the two countries also aim to develop through this partnership.

Equally, the war in Ukraine has brought back to the attention of the signatories of the partnership the need to contribute to strengthening the internal security of the European Union. And in this respect, the partnership foresees that Romania and Bulgaria will continue to coordinate their efforts to achieve their common objectives and priorities. As regards full integration into the Schengen area, this was foreseen in 2023 when the partnership declaration was signed.

Now we see that this common objective of joining the Schengen area mentioned in the text has been achieved. Of course, there is still much to be done in terms of strengthening the internal security of the two countries, but also at European level. As for the role of the Schengen area in ensuring internal security between the borders of all the member countries, there is a circular relationship between the internal security of each country and the security of the Union’s borders.

We cannot have internal border security if we do not have external border security. And in this respect, Romania and Bulgaria have a maximum responsibility because they are European Union border countries. Romania has a very long border with the EU’s external area. It is a border which it must secure through appropriate measures taken jointly with the other Member States of the Schengen area. Bulgaria and Romania are also responsible for ensuring the security of their internal borders by controlling illegal immigration.

But it is to be expected that with the regime change in Syria, with the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the flow of immigrants from this country to the European Union via Turkey and Bulgaria will be reduced in the coming period. Another issue with regard to the implementation of the strategic partnership is the fact that, in addition to the Romanian and Bulgarian state authorities, there are other entities which can contribute to the successful achievement of the objectives. I am referring to the Chambers of Commerce of the two Member States, non-governmental organizations, economic institutions, bodies lobbying the governments and parliaments of the two countries.

I would also like to mention here that lobbying plays a particularly important role. Economic lobbying, for example, can increase the political will of decision-makers in Romania and Bulgaria. Through lobbying, government agencies, decision-makers can get in touch with the Romanian-Bulgarian economic environment, they can better understand the needs of investors and adopt the necessary measures.

Viktor Orban visited Sofia and Bucharest with an energy-related agenda. How do you see Hungary’s importance in our region in the context that on January 20, 2025 Donald Trump will start his second term as US President?

Romania and Bulgaria have very good relations with Hungary. Hungary has been very supportive of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen accession process because it judged it fairly and realistically. Hungary has worked on the principle of reciprocity, a principle that can only help to strengthen relations between states. Hungary is, so to speak, the gateway to the European Union for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens.

At a joint conference with Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in Bucharest, Victor Orban mentioned that the number of border crossing points between Romania and Bulgaria will increase by 10 from January 1, 2025. From 12 to 22 crossing points. Technically, this can only bring positive interaction. But not only for Romania, but also for Bulgaria because, in this way, the flow of traffic will be smooth. It is to be expected that there will be no bottlenecks at border crossings. It is to be expected that road hauliers of goods will be able to meet their journey times between the two countries. It goes without saying that the three states are working with each other to develop their tourism.

What about border controls between Bulgaria and Romania and Romania and Hungary after full Schengen membership?

Land checks will continue but on a random basis. They will no longer be permanent controls, but will be carried out because of the need to fulfill the Schengen accession procedures.

Six months, or even a year after accession, an evaluation and monitoring report will be drawn up on Romania and Bulgaria, specifying the aspects that have been implemented and the measures that are still necessary. So it will be an evaluation report on how the Schengen acquis is being applied.

Not only Romania and Bulgaria are subject to this evaluation. All Member States are being evaluated. It is a multiannual evaluation framework until 2029. So there can be no discrimination between Member States.

It is a full evaluation involving the European institutions and the countries concerned. It is the European Commission, the European Council and the member countries. It is a peer-to-peer monitoring and evaluation process.

For example, Croatia was subject to this evaluation and monitoring. In the case of Croatia, both positive aspects and aspects that still need to be strengthened were found.

Photo: Alexandru-Ionuț Drăgulin (source: Facebook)

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