Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen. Land border checks to be lifted from Jan. 1, 2025

Brussels – Romania and Bulgaria will be fully part of the Schengen area, the area of free movement that allows more than 400 million people to move around 29 countries without border controls. After abolishing air and sea controls on March 31, today (Dec. 12), the Council of the European Union decided to remove the last obstacle with Bucharest and Sofia. With the new year, internal land border controls will also be a memory.

“A great victory for Bulgaria, Romania, and all of Europe,” the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council rejoiced in announcing the go-ahead. Interior ministers of the 27 member states, meeting today in Brussels, decided unanimously. Hungary’s Sandor Pinter, who is leading the work, made it clear upon his arrival that the two countries “are technically prepared, as is evident from all the assessments made by European experts.” For the newly appointed EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen is “a historic moment.”

Now, the world’s largest area of free movement, which came into being in 1985 with the abolition of border controls between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, will include 29 countries: 25 member states – missing from the roll call are Cyprus and Ireland -, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The European Commission immediately welcomed the news, with Ursula von der Leyen saying in a post on X: “Fully in Schengen, where you belong.” According to the European executive, the full entry of Bucharest and Sofia into the area of free movement will “further strengthen the internal market, increasing travel, trade, and tourism.”

The European Commission stressed the “successful implementation of pilot projects for rapid asylum and return procedures” in both countries and assured that it “will continue to offer financial support and assistance” for external border control through the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). Schengen is shifting its eastern borders. Bulgaria borders Turkey to the east and is part of the Balkan migration route. Romania shares a 500-kilometer border with Ukraine and as much with Moldova.

Various NGOs, in particular, have accused Bulgarian authorities of violently pushing back migrants coming from Turkey, with alleged complicity of Frontex agents. According to the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), in 2023 alone, there were 9,897 alleged pushbacks affecting 174,588 persons. Regarding irregular entry control, Romania’s deputy prime minister and interior minister, Marian-Catalin Prediou, assured, “Our border protection is among the first in Europe, and we are ready to continue to be a loyal and solid partner.”

Fully in Schengen – where you belong.

– Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 12, 2024