Criteria for countries to join the Schengen Area
Joining the Schengen Area is not merely a political decision of the joining State. Countries must fulfil a list of pre-conditions:
apply the common set of Schengen rules (the so-called “Schengen acquis”), e.g. regarding controls of land, sea and air borders (airports), issuing of visas, police cooperation and protection of personal data,
take responsibility for controlling the external borders on behalf of other Schengen countries and for issuing uniform Schengen visas,
efficiently cooperate with law enforcement agencies in other Schengen countries, to maintain a high level of security, once border controls between Schengen countries are abolished,
connect to and use the Schengen Information System (SIS)
Countries wishing to join the Schengen area must undergo a series of Schengen evaluations to confirm whether they fulfil the conditions necessary for the application of the Schengen rules.
Once the Schengen Evaluation confirms the readiness of the Member State to join the area without internal border controls, a unanimous approval from all other Member States applying the Schengen acquis in full is required.
Bulgaria and Romania have successfully accomplished the Schengen evaluation process set out in their Treaties of Accession, taking all the necessary measures to ensure application of all relevant parts of the Schengen acquis. On 30 December 2023, the Council unanimously agreed on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. Thus, as of 31 March 2024, both Member States will start applying Schengen rules. Controls at internal air and sea borders between Bulgaria and Romania and countries of the Schengen area will be lifted as of 31 March 2024. The Council agreed that a further decision should be taken at an appropriate date for the removing checks at internal land borders.
In addition, the Schengen evaluation process to assess the readiness to join the Schengen area is ongoing for Cyprus. The Schengen Information System in Cyprus was put into operation in July 2023 and this process was already verified by a dedicated Schengen evaluation in 2023.
For more information on the Schengen Evaluation and Monitoring mechanism see Schengen evaluation and monitoring.
