Romania and Bulgaria joined the Schengen area on Wednesday, and starting January 1, 2025, border controls will be abolished on the land borders of these countries with and between the Schengen countries.
“Romania and Bulgaria, welcome to Schengen,” European Parliament President Roberta Mecola wrote on social media on the night of January 1.
“From now on, there will be no more checks when crossing the land borders between Bulgaria or Romania and any Schengen country,” the European Parliament’s social network X reported.
The European Parliament recalled that border checks for air and sea travel were canceled back in March 2024.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs called 2025 a historic year for Romania, Bulgaria and its people. “Full accession to the Schengen area is in line with European promises and legitimate expectations. This marks an important milestone in our history,” the statement said.
As reported in the social media of Hungary’s X presidency of the EU Council on December 12, the interior ministers “have just decided to abolish control of internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania as of January 1, 2025.” Austria had previously opposed this because of the high level of illegal migration in Bulgaria and Romania, but later lifted its veto.
The Schengen area is a European space where border controls at the internal border have been abolished. The accession of countries will promote travel, trade and tourism.
Source: http://relocation.com.ua/rumuniia-ta-bolhariia-ofitsijno-vstupyly-do-shenhenskoi-zony/
Starting March 31, Bulgaria and Romania will become members of the Schengen area: Schengen rules will be applied in both member states, including the issuance of Schengen visas, and control at internal air and sea borders will be abolished.
This was reported by the press service of the European Commission on Saturday.
“The Commission strongly welcomes this achievement, which follows the historic Council decision of December 2023. The accession of these two Member States to the Schengen area will make the common area more attractive by significantly expanding the world’s largest common area without internal border controls,” the press release says.
Commenting on the event, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: “Tomorrow marks an important day: Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen family. I welcome the abolition of internal air and sea border checks. This is a great success for both countries. And a historic moment for the Schengen area – the largest free movement area in the world. Together we are building a stronger and more united Europe for all our citizens.”
Croatia became the 27th member of the Schengen Area on Thursday following a decision in Brussels by the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, French newspaper Le Figaro announced.
The decision, the newspaper reported, citing the Czech presidency of the EU Council, will take effect on January 1, 2023.
At the same time, the media noted, the application of Bulgaria and Romania to join the free movement zone still remained unsatisfied.
The Schengen zone began its existence in March 1995, when border controls were abolished at the internal borders between the seven states: Belgium, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and France.
