Romania and Bulgaria officially became full members of the European Union’s Schengen free-travel area on Wednesday, a significant milestone in their integration into the bloc. The two countries lifted land border controls with this move, allowing residents and visitors to travel freely across their borders without passport checks.
The historic moment was celebrated at a crossing near the Bulgarian border town of Ruse, where fireworks lit up the sky just after midnight. Bulgarian and Romanian interior ministers symbolically raised a barrier on the Friendship Bridge over the Danube River, a key transit point for international trade.
Whereas checks on air and sea travel between the two countries had already been removed at the beginning of March 2024, land checks continued until Austria finally dropped its veto in December 2024, which it had exercised because of perceived irregular migration, among other reasons. Upon approval by Austria, Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen zone was confirmed.
The Schengen Area, initiated by a few European countries in 1985, now consists of 25 EU member states and other non-EU countries like Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only two EU members not in the zone are Ireland and Cyprus. The extension of the Schengen Area is a crucial step toward closer cooperation and free movement within Europe.
