Travelers by car or train previously had to show their ID at the border with Bulgaria and Romania. That changed with the turn of the year. The two southeastern European countries are now fully part of the Schengen area.
Almost two decades after joining the EU, Bulgaria and Romania are now full members of the border-free Schengen area. At the turn of the year, controls at the land borders were discontinued. Travelers by car and train between Romania and Hungary no longer have to present any documents at the 17 previous official crossings. There will also be no controls at the previous six border crossings on the Bulgarian-Greek border.
There were a total of 14 official border crossings between Bulgaria and Romania, two of which were on bridges over the Danube and seven by ferry. On the Romanian side, there should only be random, unannounced checks in a 30-kilometer-wide area at the borders, the Interior Ministry in Bucharest said, as the media reported.
Romania and Bulgaria are now full members of the Schengen area.
High losses for Transport company
Romania and Bulgaria became members of the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007. Until now, both countries were only partial members of the Schengen area.
This meant that in March 2024, controls at airports and seaports were no longer required for travelers to these countries. However, identification documents were still checked at the land borders. Car travelers and truck drivers who traveled to these two countries via Hungary or Greece have so far had to accept delays.
The lack of full membership in the Schengen area has cost Bulgaria more than 834 million euros annually, reported the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels, an EU advisory body. As a result, Romania lost 2.32 billion euros in revenue annually, the EESC said. For Romania's transport companies, losses due to delays at the country's borders would have amounted to a further 90 million euros per year. Romania is twice the size of Bulgaria and has three times more inhabitants.
Strengthened external border protection
With Romania and Bulgaria, a total of 29 countries now belong to the Schengen area, including EU states such as Germany and France, but also non-EU countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Recently, however, many governments – including the German one – have reintroduced border controls in the fight against irregular migration. New members can only be accepted into the Schengen area unanimously.
Romania and Bulgaria had been waiting for the decision since 2011. Most recently, only Austria had blocked the abolition of controls at the land borders of both countries, but gave up resistance in December 2024. Vienna justified its veto by saying that large numbers of migrants could continue to come into the country via the two countries. In the meantime, external border protection has been strengthened, it was recently said. A contingent of 100 border guards from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria are to be sent to the Bulgarian-Turkish EU external border.
