Romania, Bulgaria become full member of the Schengen Zone

Romania and Bulgaria have also officially become full members of the Zone for free movement, joining European Union countries, plus several other states whose residents can move freely without conducting passport raids.

Fireworks have erupted in the sky at midnight in the Bulgarian border area, Russia, as the interior ministers of Bulgaria and Romania have symbolically removed barriers on the Danube River's Friendship Bridge.

This crossing point is a major transitary route to international trade.

“This is a historic moment”, Bulgarian Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev has said.

“From Greece to the south, to Finland in the north, and all the way to Portugal, will be able to travel without borders”.

Controls on the sea and air borders have been removed since March 2024 for these two countries, but land controls continued until Austria gave up a veto that used it, since it has expressed concerns about the possibility of increasing illegal migration.

Borders between France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg were removed in 1985. The Schengen area now covers 25 of the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Ireland and Cyprus are not members of the Schengen Zone. /Radio Europaliers