Bulgaria and Romania overcome Austria's objections and get partial approval to join Schengen Area

Bulgaria and Romania have received permission to join Europe's passport- and visa-free Schengen Area starting in March. The move initially will apply only to travelers arriving by air and sea, while Austria has committed to continuing negotiations over the need for border checks when crossing from the two countries by land. Austrian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov stated that negotiations with Austria will be combined with substantial support from the European Commission to protect the EU's external borders with Turkey and Serbia in order to reduce the flow of illegal migrants to Europe.