Romania and Bulgaria fully joined the European Union’s Schengen zone on Wednesday, eliminating land border controls towards other member states.
He schengen area allows residents to travel between countries without passport controls.
While the Schengen zone has steadily expanded since its creation, several countries, including Germany, have reintroduced border controls at their crossings in recent years.
Early last month, the Netherlands also introduced border controls for travelers entering from Germany and Belgium.
Romania and Bulgaria celebrate their full accession to Schengen
Bulgarian Prime Minister Resignation Glavchev He hailed the expansion of the Schengen zone as a “historic event” while speaking from the southwestern town of Kulata on Bulgaria’s border with Greece.
On New Year’s Eve, Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu and his Bulgarian counterpart Atanas Ilkov presided over a ceremony at the Giurgiu-Russe border crossing in which barriers were erected.
A similar ceremony took place at the Nadlac-Csanadpalota crossing between Romania and Hungary.
Why are Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen only this year?
Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. While the two countries had met the requirements to join the area since 2010, several countries had raised objections to their accession, fearing unsustainable migration and a burden on the welfare system in the richest regions of the EU. .
One of the opponents of its entry into Schengen was Austria, which began to exercise its veto in 2022. Although controls on air and sea borders were lifted in March 2024, the bloc only decided to eliminate border controls on the two countries. after Austria withdrew its veto. in December.
The Schengen free movement area now covers all EU countries except Cyprus and Ireland. It also includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
