Sweden EU Presidency: Schengen enlargement depends on Austria, the Netherlands

Sweden's permanent representative to the EU, Lars Danielsson, whose country has taken over the rotating presidency of the Union since January 1, has said that a reasonable chance of getting approval in the Council for Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen admission primarily depends "on the parties involved," according to Novinite.bg.

"We see no point in putting it on the agenda until it is clear that there is a reasonable chance of getting approval in the Council. So we will try to do this during the Swedish Presidency, but I cannot guarantee that it will happen," he stated.

In December last year, Austria and the Netherlands blocked the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. If Austria insists, as implied, on allowing Schengen enlargement only after a suitable arrangement on immigration is reached, this would defer Romania's bid until at least next year.

Quoted by Impakter.com, Swedish permanent representative to the EU Danielsson has said that while new policies will be worked on over the next six months "with full force," there will be no completed migration pact during the Swedish presidency, and likely not before 2024.

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