The Schengen membership of Romania and Bulgaria is on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council on December 5, USR MEP Vlad Gheorghe announced.

Sources familiar with the matter consulted by Hotnews.ro said that the topic was included on the JHA agenda at Romania's request, and the discussions are "advanced" and "progress" is being achieved.

However, Austria keeps ruling out Schengen enlargement as long as the functioning of the no-border area fails to address the migrants issue.

Austria's minister of foreign affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, was recently quoted by Die Presse as saying that Vienna maintains its veto against the expansion of the Schengen area with Romania and Bulgaria. The Austrian official insisted, however, that the blockade would not be directed against Romania or Bulgaria, there being "a fundamental problem" with Schengen.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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