Romania And Bulgaria Will Partially Join EU’s Schengen Zone In March
Romania and Bulgaria will join Europe’s borderless Schengen zone by sea and air as of March 2024, the European Council’s Spanish presidency confirmed.
Controls at land borders will remain in place after Austria raised concerns that lifting them could lead to an influx in irregular migrant arrivals into Europe. However, discussions on lifting land controls will continue in the new year.
There are currently 27 countries in the Schengen Zone, including Malta, which has been a full member since 2008.
Romania and Bulgaria, who have been seeking access for over a decade, welcomed the news.
“After 13 years, Romania will finally join Schengen – we have a political agreement,” Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said.
“As of next March, Romanians can benefit from the advantages of the Schengen area by air and sea. I am also convinced that in 2024 we will close negotiations on land borders.”
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said that after 12 years of negotiations without much progress, “today we can congratulate ourselves on this indisputable success of Bulgaria”.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the announcement as “a historic moment” for Bulgaria and Romania, while European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the decision “makes our union stronger and our people safer”.
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