Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European Union member states have approved removing checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Romania and Bulgaria.
On 1 Jan 2025, Bulgaria and Romania will become full-time parts of the Schengen, concluding a process that dates back to 2011, when the European Commission stated both nations were willing to join. Today, on 12 Dec 2024 in the European Council, interior ministers from the European Union decided to lift land border controls with Romania and Bulgaria.
In his remarks, the Hungarian president of the EU Council, Sándor Pintér said: It is a historic point to finally accept Bulgaria and Romania as full Schengen members. Lifting reviews on persons at the internal land boundaries with and between those member states has been a leading priority for the Hungarian presidency, and today we have made it a reality. This effort will benefit not only Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, but also the European Union as a whole.
As reported by the EU Council, since they acceded to the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria have applied parts of the Schengen legal framework (the Schengen acquis), including those connecting to external border management, police collaboration and the usage of the Schengen Information System. On 30 December 2023, the European Council assumed a decision to effect, from 31 March 2024, the remaining portions of the Schengen acquis and to cancel checks on individuals at internal air and sea barricades.
European Union’s Schengen is the most extensive free travel region in the world. Border inspections between Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were first settled in 1985. The Schengen region now covers 29 nations (25 of the 27 member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and around 420 million people. Management at the internal boundaries with Cyprus has not yet been removed, and Ireland is not the territory of the Schengen zone.
