Satu Mare(Romania). Two German tourists thought they were in Schengen and ended up with criminal charges
Satu Mare(Romania). Two German tourists thought they were in Schengen and ended up with criminal charges
Nu e nicio glumă! Doi turiști germani s-au ales cu dosar penal pentru că au crezut că România a intrat în Spațiul Schengen! Totul a început după ce la sediul
Translation with deepl:
This is no joke! Two German tourists got a criminal record because they thought Romania had joined the Schengen Area! It all started after the surveillance cameras located near the border line, on the Garbolcz road (Hungary), at the S.P.F. Petea headquarters, around 17.40, issued an alert and transmitted images of two people riding their bicycles from Romania to Hungary, according to PresaSM information.
The images transmitted by the surveillance cameras showed the two people riding around the concrete obstacle and the barrier on the road, illegally crossing the border from Romania into Hungary. The intervention team of S.P.F. Petea was alerted and went to the scene, but the two persons could not be identified and detained.
At the same time, the Hungarian border authorities were informed and sent a team to the area, thus managing to apprehend the two persons. During the border meeting that took place at the S.P.F. Petea headquarters, in order to jointly investigate the border event, the Hungarian border authorities informed that the two persons are German citizens.
According to PresaSM data, in front of the Hungarian authorities, the persons in question declared that they were on holiday and were travelling on bicycles guided by the GPS application of their mobile phones. This is how they arrived in the town of Petea, where the app showed them that there was a border crossing point, as they intended to cross the border from Romania into Hungary. Being used to travelling freely through Europe, without customs controls between countries, they did not know that they could not cross the border there.
I thought any EU member can cross inner-EU borders freely? Seems like i am the same clueless german as the guys in the article🫠
I thought any EU member can cross inner-EU borders freely?
A citizen of an EU member has the right to freedom of movement of labor in the EU. However, people are required to show identity documents at the border and be checked if the member state is not in the Schengen Area.
Presently, Romania is not in the Schengen Area (and this is, in fact, a very politically-contentious situation in Romania, as the European Commission considers them to have fulfilled the requirements for over a decade, but they have been repeatedly blocked by other member states from entering, most-recently by Austria).
Same thing with the UK back when they were still members. Part of the EU, not part of Schengen, so you couldn't just walk off the eurostar without showing your passport. More checks when flying too, had to stay in the non-schengen zone of airports, etc.
Obviously, it's politically contentious in Romania, but I think most Europeans, just like these Germans, think it's stupid and counter-intuitive that Romania's not part of Schengen yet.
Without googling, I assume it's because somewhere like the Netherlands or Austria needs to placate the far right with symbolic nonsense, that causes Romanians unnecessary delays, and makes them feel like second tier Europeans.
Nope. Britain was in the EU and not in Schengen. Cue passport queues.
I think it's not "freely", as in someone has to check your ID. I could be wrong tho.
Checks are optional within Schengen, no one has to but can e.g. when Austria wants to check for illegal immigrants and sets up checkpoints at the border. Border crossings are often just rural roads where the road surface suddenly looks different and there are slightly different looking signs. On some there are still old customs buildings, especially crossings within cities but also no staff.
Even crossing out of the EU into Switzerland (Schengen), I have never been asked for documents. I have seen customs buildings but it's an open crossing and no one even standing there to check for anything when leaving the EU.
For anyone interested, this seems to be the crossing in question: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8zYiW5s877R9nSuG8
I'm curious how they got into Romania in the first place. Did they not notice the border on their way there either?
Crossing unmanned border checkpoints when hiking or cycling is pretty common and was generally tolerated, at least in pre-Schengen Europe. There's also loads of abandonded border crossings similar to this, even between Schengen states.
I'm also not so sure wether they were actually unaware of the rules - it looks like the next border crossing is 20km away, maybe they just didn't want to take the detour.
It takes a bit more than that to stop a German on a bike
I’m curious how they got into Romania in the first place. Did they not notice the border on their way there either?
Why would there be an issue getting into Romania? The article doesnt mention if they were tourists staying in Romania or tourists staying in Hungary, but nevertheless if I would be at a border and a border guard asks for my ID I would just show it to them, especially at the airport. But if I am on a bike-ride and saw a border like this, within the EU, I would think nothing of it and go around it. I would never dream that inside of the EU crossing an unmanned border would be an issue
Because Romania is in the EU but it is not in Schengen, so you have to show your ID at the border EVERY TIME you enter/exit the country, same with Bulgaria.
If they would have crossed from Hungary to Austria, it would be no problem since both countries are in Schengen and no ID is necessary.
For this whole drama, the tourists can thank the Austrian gov since they vetoed Romania's entry into Schengen last year even tho they fulfill all the requirements to do so.
What is even the point of the road with a concrete block like that? Or is it supposed to be a temporary checkpoint or something like that?
One side, or both, temporarily, closed the border crossing in case, for an undetermined period of time. They set down those blocks so people don't simply open the gate and cross as they please (which they probably did before, even in case the bar wasn't permanently standing upright anyway). Could be that they, in effect, just blocked it for personal travelers and commercial cargo vehicles, as it seems to me that tractor drivers or other locals just tend to go around it from time to time.
There's lots of these little country roads in Europe which cross borders and never had real toll buildings, perhaps just a small booth or maybe never even that, only those red-white tollgate bars and a guard. But, since the creation of the Schengen area, it became common for crossings like these to never having been serviced by border personnel ever again...
Many of those rural streets and their crossings however, despite traversing factually open borders for ages, are just allowed for – yes, legal to use by, for crossing into the neighboring country – people who live in that area! Or rather: for cars with regional license plates.
I don't know if that was the situation or what the deal was there before they put down these concrete blocks, but with the shift towards rightwing ideology all across Europe, the push for faschist bs and "concerns about immigration practices" whathaveyou, it doesn't surprise me at all that they did.
Because keeping illegals out is easier that way. Or something. It would scare voters / the people™ if they/we didn't! I'm pretty sure this came out of some politician's promises. Yay! /s
Besides big roads the border is basically not visible.
TIL Romania is not in Schengen
Those must be some of the 3 million illegal immigrants going through Bulgaria and Romania on their way to Austria. Did they pay €50 to cross by any chance?