Austria To Veto Bulgarias, Romanias Accession To Schengen Zone - Foreign Minister

Austria will maintain its veto on Bulgaria's and Romania's possible accession to the European Union's passport-free Schengen zone until there is a decline in asylum seekers, illegal migration, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has said.

In 2022, the EU received about 1 million refugees apart from Ukrainians.

"What's important to us, to be perfectly frank, is that the numbers go down and there has to be a sustained decline ... One must understand that when we're seeing over 100,000 asylum applications every 12 months, it is difficult for us as Austria to just let this dysfunctional system roll along," Schallenberg told the Politico newspaper on Thursday.

The Austrian leader did not define a timeframe when the country might lift the veto on the Schengen zone expansion for both countries, but given the rising dynamics related to continuing arrivals of refugees, the issue is unlikely to be tackled in the short-term, according to the report.

Schallenberg said that the Austrian government "was encouraged" by the EU's action plan to tighten border controls and expedite asylum procedures, adding that it was necessary to see "much more progress," the report added.

In March, European Council President Charles Michel said that he fully supported Romania's accession to the Schengen area in 2023.