Austria is preparing to lift its veto against Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen. The decision will be announced at a ministerial meeting in Budapest next week.

Austria is preparing to lift its veto against Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen. The decision will be announced next week at a ministerial meeting in Budapest. This is a significant step as Austria was the only EU state to block the two Eastern European countries' accession. The Austrian interior minister stressed that Austria's concerns about the security of the EU's external borders were taken seriously.