Romania expects to enter US Visa Waiver and new vote on full Schengen membership

Romania is expected to enter the Visa Waiver scheme and thus travel freely in the United States as the country already met the 3% visa refusal rate requirement, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu told Realitatea TV station, Profit.ro reported.

An official announcement is expected around October 15, he said.

Separately, president Klaus Iohannis announced good odds for Romania to become a full member of Europe's borderless region Schengen this year. But there's no guarantee, he admitted, as reported by Digi24.

MEP and EP vice-president Victor Negrescu, quoted by Economica.net, confirmed that the topic will be on the agenda towards the end of the year.

EC's representative in Bulgaria, quoted by Euractiv, announced that a vote on Bulgaria's and Romania's Schengen membership may take place on October 10.

"On October 10, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, together with Hungary's interior minister, are to propose to the Council of the European Union that checks at land borders be abolished," Yordanka Chobanova, who heads the European Commission's representation in Bulgaria, said on Monday.

Romania and Bulgaria are partial members of the Schengen agreement, with their air and water borders as of April 1, 2024. A decision on the terrestrial borders, which are essential for smoothing the freight and passenger traffic, was vetoed by Austria.

"Depending on the result of the elections in Austria [on September 29], we will know to what extent Romania has a chance to have this year a decision regarding entry into Schengen and land borders. I believe there are some chances," MEP Negrescu commented.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea)