European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson expressed hope that Bulgaria and Romania would be admitted to Schengen by land by the end of her term of office. "The two decisions that I hope to see before handing over the mandate to the next European Commissioner are to abolish internal controls for Bulgaria and Romania. We have seen very good action at the air borders and I therefore believe it is time to lift controls at the land borders as well. I hope this will happen while I am still in office'', said Ylva Johannson ahead of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

 Austria’s Minister of Interior Gerhard Karner said that the two countries were moving in the right direction, but they had not yet traveled the road to full Schengen membership. Currently, Austria is the only country opposing Bulgaria’s full entry into Schengen.