Romania, Bulgaria join border-free Schengen zone after 13 years of waiting | News of the European Union
Identity checks at the land borders of Bulgaria and Romania have ended, opening up free travel to the rest of the European Union.
Romania and Bulgaria became full members of the Schengen zone, expanding the borderless area to 29 members and ending a 13-year wait for the two Eastern European countries.
The enlargement, which became possible when Austria and other members dropped their objections to the former communist countries joining, was made official at midnight on Wednesday (22:00 GMT), marked by ceremonies at various border crossings.
Identity checks at the land borders between Bulgaria and Romania and their neighboring EU member states officially ended at midnight, allowing travelers free access to the rest of the 27-nation bloc.
Two Balkan countries partially connected of the Schengen area in March, but open travel was limited to those arriving by air or sea only.
On Tuesday evening, the interior ministers of Bulgaria and Romania met at the Ruse-Giurgiu border crossing between the two countries to mark the opening of the border. Another short ceremony was held at the border crossing between Hungary and Romania with a meeting between the head of the Hungarian national police and the chief inspector of the Romanian border police.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, but were not integrated into the border-free zone until March, when border checks were lifted on sea and air traffic. The land border checks remained in place amid opposition, mainly from Austria, over concerns that the two countries were not doing enough to prevent migrants from entering without authorization.
The enlargement of the Schengen area it came after several months of efforts by the Hungarian government to integrate Bulgaria and Romania into the zone during its six-month EU presidency.
Approximately one million ethnic Hungarians live in the Transylvania region of Romania, a legacy of the partition of Hungary after World War I. Relations between the two countries have historically been difficult, but the opening of the border will facilitate travel and strengthen ties between the regions.
Schengen, one of the main achievements of the European project, was established in 1985 as an intergovernmental project between five EU countries – France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It gradually expanded and became the largest free travel area in the world.
However, several Schengen member states, including the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, have reinstated some land border controls this year due to concerns ranging from migration to security. Some EU officials have warned that reintroduced checks could undermine the aims of the scheme.
Before the partial accession of Bulgaria and Romania, Schengen comprised 23 of the 27 EU member states, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. About 3.5 million people cross the internal border every day, and more than 420 million people live within the Schengen area.
