Home › World › Two decisions that shaped Europe's borders and sanctions
Two decisions that shaped Europe's borders and sanctions
Summary
A look back at the Schengen partial accession and the Russian veto on North Korea sanctions monitoring, both reported in the days before 3 April 2024.
What did the final days of March 2024 reveal about the limits of collective decision-making in Europe and beyond? As of 3 April 2024, two recent developments pointed to how single governments can shape outcomes for many.
Schengen opens only partly
On 31 March 2024, Bulgaria and Romania partially joined the Schengen Area. Travel by air and sea between member states became possible without border checks. Travel by land did not: Austria vetoed that step, citing fears that non-EU citizens could gain easier access to the European Union.
The result was a split arrangement, with some checks lifted and others kept in place by one member's objection.
A veto at the UN
On 29 March 2024, Russia vetoed the continued monitoring of United Nations sanctions on the North Korean nuclear weapons programme. The veto ended the monitoring arrangement, a move that sat alongside the reported state of relations between Moscow and Pyongyang.
What links them
The two decisions differed in scale and setting. In both, one state's veto determined the outcome: Austria's on land borders within the Schengen Area, and Russia's on sanctions monitoring at the United Nations.
