The cost of non-Schengen for the Single market – impact on Bulgaria and Romania

Key points

The EESC:

• calls the Council to set a date for lifting land border controls between Bulgaria and Romania and the other Schengen Member States as early as 2024. The EESC calls on all stakeholders to work collaboratively towards this goal, ensuring that the benefits of Schengen membership are extended equally to all EU citizens;

• underlines that the Schengen Agreement is essential for the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the EU, that the competitiveness of the EU has become a pressing political priority, as underscored by the recent reports of Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi;

• considers that despite its significant achievements, the European single market remains a work in progress. Any limitations on the freedom of movement within it have an adverse effect on EU competitiveness and economic growth, hampering the full realisation of the social market economy as envisaged in the Treaties;

• considers that the European Commission should regularly provide reliable data on the economic and social effects directly linked to the introduction of border controls within the Schengen area, including with respect to competitiveness;

• points out that different estimates show that companies operating in Bulgaria and Romania pay billions of euros annually as a result of increased costs and delays. All these direct costs are inevitably passed on to consumers, and have an impact on workers’ physical and mental health;

• stresses that land border controls have a clear environmental impact due to the CO2 emissions from vehicles waiting to cross the border. They hamper tourism and impede the free movement of labour. The uncertainty and inefficiencies associated with land border controls deter foreign direct investment and harm the investment climate;

• emphasises that Bulgaria and Romania’s lack of Schengen membership has a political price. Joining the Schengen area should not be used as a form of non-formal, post-EU accession conditionality. Тhis approach creates mistrust in the European institutions and fuels Eurosceptic sentiments.

Thematic event in Sofia on 24 September

The EESC, together with BIA, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, organised a thematic event in the framework of the own-initiative opinion. It focused on concrete issues that Bulgaria and Romania experience because of non-Schengen for land borders, and saw the participation of a wide range of key actors, such as businesses operating in Bulgaria and Romania, civil society organisations, local authorities, MEPs, and other relevant stakeholders at European level. Read the story about this event. See the programme below.

For more information, please contact the INT Section Secretariat