Identification checks at Bulgaria and Romania’s land borders have ceased, opening free travel to the rest of the European Union.
Published On 1 Jan 2025
Romania and Bulgaria have become 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 expansion, made possible when Austria and other members dropped their objections to the former communist countries joining, officially took place at midnight (22: 00 GMT) on Wednesday, marked by ceremonies at various border posts.
Identification checks at the land borders between Bulgaria and Romania and their neighbouring European Union member countries officially ceased at midnight, providing travellers free access to the rest of the 27-member bloc.
The two Balkan countries partially joined the Schengen Area in March, but open travel was restricted to those arriving only by air or sea.
Late on Tuesday, the interior ministers of Bulgaria and Romania met at the Ruse-Giurgiu border crossing between the two countries to mark the opening of the frontier. Another short ceremony was held at a border crossing between Hungary and Romania with a meeting between Hungary’s national chief of police and the chief inspector of Romania’s border police.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, but were not integrated into the borderless zone until March, when border checks were lifted from maritime and air travel. Land border checks remained in place due to opposition, chiefly from Austria, over concerns that the two countries were not doing enough to p