Austria has lifted its veto on Romania and Bulgaria’s full membership of the Schengen area, the Austrian Ministry of Interior has announced.

“We can take the next step at the EU (Justice and Home Affairs) Council,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a statement issued by his ministry, as quoted by Reuters. The EU Justice and Home Affairs Council is holding a meeting on Thursday, 12 December, and the scrapping of Schengen border checks by land for Bulgaria and Romania has been included as the first item on its agenda.

• Bulgaria’s full Schengen membership is on the agenda of the 12 December EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting

"After 'Schengen Air', 'Schengen Land' is now open to Romania and Bulgaria," Minister Karner said, adding that Austria's demands on tackling illegal immigration had led to a fall in the number of migrants intercepted near Austria's border with Hungary, the most common route into the country, Reuters reports further. A spokesperson for the Austrian Interior Ministry told the AFP Austria would not exercise its right to a veto.

• Bulgaria joins Schengen area by air and sea

Romania and Bulgaria, which are members of the EU and of NATO, joined the Schengen free-travel area partially -  by air and by sea - in March, after agreement was reached with Austria which initially opposed the two countries’ accession on the grounds that they needed to do more to prevent illegal immigration.