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Bulgaria and Romania become full members of the Schengen area

Politiko 2024-12-12 11:21:39

Bulgaria and Romania become full members of the Schengen area

European Union member states have cleared the way for Bulgaria and Romania to become full members of the Schengen free movement area, starting next year.

"It is a historic moment to finally welcome Bulgaria and Romania," said Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, whose country currently holds the presidency of the European bloc.

Bulgaria and Romania, both EU member states since 2007, have been partially integrated into the free movement area since March, allowing only air and sea traffic, without border controls.

Austria had rejected full admission of these countries to Schengen, citing concerns about migration.

However, Vienna said on Monday that it would not use its veto at the ministerial meeting held on Thursday morning, and thus the two countries will be full members from January 1, 2025.

Bucharest and Sofia have met all the technical criteria set by Brussels in 2010, but have waited more than a decade to become part of Schengen, as some countries have been against it for years.

Austria waived its veto only after the three countries signed the "border protection package".

The agreement foresees joint deployment of border guards on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, and temporary border controls on land routes for a period of six months.

Created in 1985, the Schengen area consists of 29 states – 25 of the 27 countries of the European bloc, plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

This is the largest area in the world without internal border controls.

More than 400 million people can travel freely within it./rel

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