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Bulgaria and Romania joined Europe's Schengen area of free movement on Sunday, joining the rest of Europe travelling freely by air and sea without border checks.
The admission to the zone comes after a thirteen-year wait.
The membership is partial, however, as a veto by Austria means the new membership will not apply to land routes, which Vienna argued would lead to more asylum seekers travelling into Europe.
"This is a great success for both countries," President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said.
"And a historic moment for the Schengen area — the largest area of free movement in the world. Together, we are building a stronger, more united Europe for all our citizens."
The Schengen zone will now comprise of 29 members – 25 of the 27 European Union member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Romania's government said Schengen rules would apply to four seaports and 17 airports, including Bucharest's largest Otopeni airport.
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Increased border police and immigration officers will be deployed to support passengers, and random checks will be carried out to detect people with false documents.
In January 2023 Croatia beat Romania and Bulgaria to become Schengen's 27th member, despite joining the EU later.
The Schengen Area was created in 1995 following the signing of the Schengen Agreement 10 years earlier between five member states of the European Economic Community: Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Several other agreements followed until the 2007 enlargement, integrating nine additional countries into the free movement area.
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Turkey is holding local elections on Sunday that will decide who gets to control Istanbul and other key cities.
The elections have stirred up clashes in parts of Turkey, with one person killed and several wounded in an altercation between two groups in Turkey's Kurdish minority in the village of Agaclidere.
The main battlegrounds are the country's economic hub of Istanbul and the capital of Ankara, both of which Erdogan lost in 2019, shattering his aura of invincibility.
The 70-year-old Turkish president has set his sights on wresting back Istanbul, a city of 16 million people, where he was born and raised, and where he began his political career as mayor in 1994.
A strong showing for Erdogan’s ruling Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party, or AKP, would likely harden his resolve to usher in a new constitution - one that would reflect his conservative values and allow him to rule beyond 2028, when his current term ends, according to analysts.
For the opposition, divided and demoralized after a defeat in last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, keeping Istanbul and Ankara would be a major boost and help remobilize supporters.
Voter turnout
Some 61 million people, including more than a million first-time voters, are eligible to cast ballots for all metropolitan municipalities, town and district mayorships as well as neighbourhood administrations.
Turnout is traditionally high in Turkey, but this time the vote comes against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis.
Observers say disillusioned opposition supporters could opt to stay home, doubting its ability to change things. Governing party supporters, meanwhile, could also choose not to go to the polls in protest of the economic downturn that has left many struggling to pay for food, utilities and rent.
Some 594,000 security personnel will be on duty across the country to ensure the vote goes smoothly, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
A close race
Polls have pointed to a close race between Istanbul’s incumbent mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, of the main opposition, pro-secular Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and the AKP’s candidate Murat Kurum, a former urbanization and environment minister.
However, this time, Imamoglu, a popular figure touted as a possible future challenger to Erdogan, is running without the support of some of the parties that helped him to victory in 2019.
Both the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party and the nationalist IYI Party are fielding their own candidates in the race, which could siphon away votes from Imamoglu.
A six-party opposition alliance led by CHP disintegrated after it failed to oust Erdogan in last year's election, unable to capitalize on the economic crisis and the government’s initially poor response to last year's devastating earthquake that killed more than 53,000 people.
Turkey hikes interest rate to 50% in surprise move Turkish inflation rockets to almost 70%, shattering hopes of a rate pause Local elections in Turkey are about to deliver yet another political thriller
Meanwhile, a new religious-conservative party, the New Welfare Party, or YRP, is appealing to voters who have been disillusioned with Erdogan’s handling of the economy and is expected to draw some votes away from his candidates.
In Ankara, incumbent Mayor Mansur Yavas, also seen as a potential future challenger to Erdogan, is expected to retain his post, according to opinion polls.
His challenger — Turgut Altinok, the AKP candidate and mayor of Ankara’s Kecioren district — has failed to drum up excitement among supporters.
In Turkey's mainly Kurdish-populated southeast, the DEM Party is expected to win many of the municipalities but it's unclear whether it would be allowed to retain them.
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Family values
Erdogan, who has presided over Turkey for more than two decades, as prime minister since 2003 and president since 2014, has been advocating a new constitution that would put family values at the forefront.
He does not have sufficient votes to enact a new constitution now, but a strong showing could allow him to woo some conservative, nationalist or Islamic legislators from the opposition camp for a needed two-thirds majority.
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Fifteen years have passed since the last update of a European Union treaty.
Signed in 2007 and into force since 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon clarified the division of competences between the EU and its member states, gave the EU its own legal personality and provided for the first time a formal procedure for the withdrawal of a member state from the Union.
Since then, enlargement has been one of the reasons regularly put forward by those in favour of reforming the EU's institutions, treaties and budget, but it is far from the only one. The war in Ukraine, the digital and energy transition, the fight against climate change and social inequalities - these are all global challenges that require the EU to have a greater capacity for action, according to the Foundation for European Progressive Studies in its report "EU Treaties: Why they need targeted changes".
Enlargement and internal reform have been regular items on the European institutions' agenda in recent years. At the end of November, the European Parliament gave the green light to proposals to reform the EU Treaties. At the Granada Summit in early October, the President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, also called for enlargement of the EU not to wait for a change in the Treaties. Citizens also put forward recommendations and proposals on the future of the Union at the Conference on the Future of Europe, a series of debates held between 2021 and 2022.
In concrete terms, what proposals for reform were put forward? How would they be adopted? Here are seven key areas for reform.
1. Decision-making and enlargement
First of all, MEPs are calling for changes to the voting mechanisms within the Council. In order to prevent the institutions from coming to a standstill, they are advocating the generalisation of qualified majority voting in all areas where unanimity is still required.
Currently, a qualified majority is reached when at least 55% of Member States (i.e. 15 out of 27) vote in favour and when these member states represent at least 65% of the EU population.
In several policy areas, we need to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting because otherwise we will be paralyzed. This is the case in the external action. This is the case in the tax policy. This is also the case in the social policy. Maria Jo？o Rodrigues
President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies
MEPs are also calling for a more bicameral system that would strengthen the role of the Parliament and for a reversal of the current roles in the election of the President of the Commission: in future, the Parliament would propose the President of the Commission and the Council would approve them.
In order to prepare the EU institutions for enlargement, the "Group of Twelve", a Franco-German working group on institutional reforms, advocates abolishing the power of veto in the field of foreign affairs, retaining a maximum number of 751 MEPs and extending the format of the trio to five presidencies in the EU Council.
2. Peace and security
The war in Ukraine has also highlighted "the scope and limits of the European Union's power", says the Foundation for European Progressive Studies in its report. While member states have deployed a range of sanctions against Russia and provided economic, military and humanitarian support to Ukraine, the war has demonstrated their failure to anticipate this crisis, their dependence on the United States for their own defence and their dependence on Russian gas imports.
We are dealing with a different international context, and Europe needs to raise its capacity to defend itself, to support Ukraine. Maria Jo？o Rodrigues
President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies
The members of the European Parliament therefore propose the creation of a defence union with military capabilities.
3. Consolidating the rule of law One of the major weaknesses of the European Union has been over the past years, that it has not been able to protect the rule of law in all member states. Daniela Schwarzer
Member of the Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation
The defence of the rule of law and the democratic legitimacy of the EU could be strengthened through institutional reforms. To this end, the authors of the report "Navigating the High Seas: EU Reform and Enlargement in the 21st Century" recommend increasing budget conditionality and improving Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), which allows a member state's voting rights in the Council to be suspended if it fails to respect fundamental values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights.
The European Commission first triggered Article 7 in 2017 against Poland, when Warsaw was planning a reform that threatened the independence of the judiciary. In 2018, Hungary was targeted by the same procedure following concerns about the independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression, corruption and minority rights. Conditional on a unanimous vote minus a single vote in the Council, Article 7 has never come to fruition.
"Article 7 has not worked simply because if a country is accused of breaking these rules, all it takes is for another country to block a decision being taken against it. Hungary and Poland have protected each other on a number of occasions in recent years," explains Daniela Schwarzer, a member of the Bertelsmann Foundation's Board of Trustees.
4. Climate change
The Treaty on the Functioning of the EU already refers to environmental protection. In addition, MEPs called for the reduction of global warming and the preservation of biodiversity to be added as objectives of the Union. The Foundation for European Progressive Studies also proposes introducing a new exclusive competence for the EU in terms of international policy to combat climate change, which would enable the Union to negotiate environmental rules with a single voice.
Europe needs to have a key role in improving global governance when dealing with climate change. Maria Jo？o Rodrigues
President of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies
5. Energy transition
Soaring energy prices following the war in Ukraine have highlighted the dependence of some European countries on Russian gas.
Members of the European Parliament are proposing the creation of an integrated European Energy Union to guarantee a stable, affordable and sustainable energy supply for Europeans. This strategy is based on five pillars: energy security, an integrated internal energy market, energy efficiency, decarbonisation of the economy, and research and the economy.
It would be very useful to strengthen the European Union further in the procurement of energy. So, a joint gas platform is a very good idea, but more can be done. Daniela Schwarzer
Member of the Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation
6. Digital transition
The Lisbon Treaty makes no mention of the term "digital". Many experts therefore insist that the text needs to be updated.
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So the question has to be raised how through either regulations, also the provision of own public digital infrastructure and platforms, Europe can help create a global safe digital space because the future of course, is in many ways digital. Daniela Schwarzer
Member of the Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation
The European Union has already adopted important texts on digital issues. The Digital Markets Act (DMA), for example, provides a framework for the economic activity of major digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft in the European Union. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) protects users' personal data. According to the authors of the report "The EU Treaties: Why they need targeted changes", digital issues should be a shared competence between the EU and member states, in order to guarantee access to the Internet, the right to disconnect, digital education, the right to live without the need for digital technologies and the right to a safe environment.
7. Health
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for Europe-wide coordination and cooperation in the field of health.
A health crisis which is transnational by definition, that doesn't stop at borders, requires joint action. Daniela Schwarzer
Member of the Board of the Bertelsmann Foundation
A European health data area, equitable access to healthcare within the EU, joint purchasing of vaccines and medicines, management of rare diseases, and the development of orphan drugs are just some of the public goods that could be developed. These are all public goods that could be developed on a European scale if the EU's competences were extended, according to the Foundation for European Progressive Studies.
On the other hand, some opponents of such reforms believe that these powers should be devolved to the member states and call for greater national sovereignty. Others sometimes consider that amendments to the Treaties are unnecessary because the texts already allow for some of these measures.
How are the treaties amended?
1. Ordinary revision procedure
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The government of a member state, the European Parliament and the European Commission may submit a proposal to amend the Treaties to the Council of the European Union (composed of the ministers of the governments of member states).
The government of a member state, the European Parliament and the European Commission may submit a proposal to amend the Treaties to the Council of the European Union (composed of the ministers of the governments of the member states).
The Council of the European Union in turn submits these proposals to the European Council (composed of the Heads of State or Government of the member states), whose President may choose to convene a Convention.
A Conference of Representatives of the Governments of member states is then convened by the President of the European Council to adopt the proposed amendments to the Treaties by consensus. These amendments must then be ratified by all member states.
2. Simplified revision procedure
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The Lisbon Treaty creates a simplified procedure for amending the EU's internal policies and actions.
This procedure avoids the need to convene the Convention and the Conference of Representatives.
Amendments to the Treaties must be ratified by all member states.
3. Bridging clauses
Passerelle clauses are a second simplified revision procedure used in two scenarios.
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For legislative acts adopted by the Council of the EU unanimously, the European Council may authorise the Councils to act by qualified majority.
For legislative acts adopted by the Council of the EU under a special legislative procedure, the European Council may authorise the use of the ordinary legislative procedure.