INT/1064 Follow-up from the Commission

The EESC:

• calls on 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 also 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, and that the competitiveness of the EU has become a pressing political priority, as underscored by recent reports by 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.