On December 12, 2024, the European Council announced that European Union (EU) member states have agreed to abolish checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania starting January 1, 2025. This decision will eliminate the reported, long border control queues at the thirty (30) land borders shared by the two countries. This should enable Bulgarian and Romanian citizens to save time by allowing free travel between the countries via internal land borders as well as spur economic growth in these two countries as the transportation of goods will no longer be hindered by lengthy border queues. This decision represents the long-awaited, full joining of Bulgaria and Romania to Europe’s Schengen area in the new year.
Background: Schengen Expansion
The Schengen Area is a free movement zone currently comprised of twenty-nine countries that have agreed to function as a single jurisdiction for purposes of passport and border controls. With Bulgaria and Romania’s full addition to the Schengen Area, the bloc will grow to 4.5 million square kilometers with a population of 450 million people. The free movement zone will now include all EU member states except Ireland and Cyprus. Non-EU member states – namely Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein – are also part of the Schengen Area.
The European Commission – the executive arm of the European Union – first confirmed Bulgaria and Romania were ready to become part of the Schengen area without internal border controls in 2011, shortly after both countries became member states of the EU in 2007. Both countries have steadily been working toward the goal of fully joining the Schengen area by demonstrating their fulfillment of the conditions required for Schengen members. At the end of 2023, the European Council announced the partial expansion of the Schengen area through the lifting of air and sea border controls with Bulgaria and Romania in March 2024, with internal land border controls still in place at the time. With the last travel condition now lifted, as of January 1, 2025 Bulgaria and Romania will receive the same free travel benefits as all members of the Schengen area (excluding Cyprus, which still maintains internal border controls).
This further expansion of the Schengen Area comes as the EU moves toward digitalizing Schengen visas, the short-stay visas issued by Schengen member states that allow non-Schengen nationals to move about the Schengen Area without being subject to additional border controls. It also comes as the EU gears up for the expected launch of an electronic visa waiver program for the Schengen Area in 2025.