The European Council (EC), a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union (EU), announced today that it will remove all land border controls with Bulgaria and Romania in January of next year, thereby granting these two countries full membership in the Schengen free travel area.
Established in 1985, the Schengen area (also known as Schengen zone) is the largest internal border-free area in the world controls. It consists of 29 members, which include 25 of the 27 European Union member states, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
Bulgaria and Romania’s admission into passport-free open-border Schengen area, which has been postponed due to apprehensions regarding illegal immigration, arrives almost two decades since the two Eastern European countries became fully-fledged members of the European Union.
The two nations, both members of NATO, became part of the European Union in 2007. However, their entry into the Schengen area was delayed due to the need to address various concerns, including issues related to corruption. This process was further stalled during the European refugee crisis in 2015.
In 2022, Austria obstructed the efforts of Bulgaria and Romania to join the Schengen area, citing the influx of refugees arriving through the Western Balkans as a primary concern.
According to Reuters, these two Balkan countries serve as significant transit points for the illegal trafficking of arms, drugs, and humans.
In March, Austria consented to the partial inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen zone, lifting checks at air and maritime borders, while maintaining restrictions on land borders.
Austria’s Interior Minister, Gerhard Karner, stated in November that Vienna had made considerable advancements in border security, resulting in a substantial decrease in the number of illegal migrants arriving via Romania and Bulgaria.
The European Council concluded on December 10 that both countries fulfill the essential criteria for complete accession to the Schengen Area.
In today’s statement, which characterized this admission as a “historic moment,” the European Council announced that all land border control posts between Bulgaria and other Schengen nations, as well as between Bulgaria and Greece, and Romania and Hungary, will be scrapped on January 1, 2025.
According to the current Hungarian presidency of the European Union, the admission of Bulgaria and Romania into Schengen zone will be advantageous not only for the citizens of both countries, but also for the bloc as a whole.
Upon learning of European Council’s decision, the Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, said that since Schengen membership has been a strategic goal for the country, Bucharest will persist in acting responsibly to safeguard and enhance the EU’s external borders to effectively address illegal migration.