By Mewati Sitaram
Romania and Bulgaria officially became full members of the European Union’s Schengen free-travel area on Wednesday, eliminating land border controls and allowing residents to travel freely within the bloc without passport checks.
The historic moment was marked by a symbolic ceremony just after midnight at a crossing near Bulgaria’s border town of Ruse. The interior ministers of both countries raised a barrier on the Friendship Bridge, which spans the Danube River and serves as a key transit point for international trade, often plagued by bottlenecks.
“This is a historic moment,” stated Bulgarian Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev. “From Greece in the south to Finland in the north, and all the way to Portugal in the west, you can travel without borders.”
While air and sea travel between Romania, Bulgaria, and other Schengen countries had already been opened in March 2024, land border checks persisted until Austria lifted its veto last month, which had been in place due to concerns over irregular migration.
The Schengen area, which began eliminating border checks between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in 1985, now includes 25 of the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. However, Ireland and Cyprus remain outside the Schengen zone.
Editor in Chief : Mewati SItaram
