BUDAPEST, Hungary — Ceremonies took place just before midnight on Tuesday to celebrate Bulgaria’s and Romania’s official entry into the Schengen area, marking the end of a lengthy period of negotiations for these Eastern European nations to join the no-border travel zone.
As of midnight, identification checks at the land borders between Bulgaria, Romania, and other neighboring European Union countries have been eliminated, allowing travelers seamless passage throughout the 27-member EU bloc. While the two countries had been granted partial entry into the Schengen area in March, the allowance for unrestricted travel was limited to those arriving by air and sea.
Later on Tuesday, interior ministers from Bulgaria and Romania convened at the Ruse-Giurgiu border to commemorate the opening of their shared frontier. Simultaneously, a brief ceremony occurred at a border point between Hungary and Romania, involving Hungary’s national police chief and Romania’s border police inspector.
The expansion of the Schengen area followed months of concerted efforts by Hungary, which was holding the EU’s six-month rotating presidency, to incorporate Bulgaria and Romania into the travel zone. Approximately 1 million ethnic Hungarians reside in Romania’s Transylvania region, a historical consequence of the partition of Hungary after World War I. Despite challenges in their relations, the easing of border controls is expected to enhance travel and strengthen connections between the two regions.
Established in 1985 as an initiative among five EU countries—France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg—the Schengen Area has grown into the world’s largest free travel zone. However, some member nations, including the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany, have reinstated certain land border checks due to concerns related to migration and security this year. EU officials have cautioned that these renewed checks might jeopardize the objectives of the Schengen agreement.
Prior to the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania, the Schengen zone consisted of 23 of the 27 EU member states, in addition to Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. Within this area, approximately 3.5 million people cross internal borders daily, with over 420 million inhabitants living within the Schengen zone.
Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU back in 2007 but faced delays in integrating into the Schengen area until March, when border checks were lifted for air and sea travel. Land border checks remained due to opposition, primarily from Austria, which raised issues regarding the two countries’ efforts in controlling unauthorized migration.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has described the full admission of Romania into the Schengen area as a “natural and necessary step,” emphasizing that it would dramatically reduce border wait times, decrease logistical costs for businesses, and attract foreign investment. Economists at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences estimate that Bulgaria could see a total financial benefit of approximately 800 million euros (around $840 million) annually as a result of its Schengen membership.
