Schengen expansion: Bulgaria and Romania finally without limits!

Schengen expansion: Bulgaria and Romania finally without limits!

Bulgarien, Bulgarien - Bulgaria and Romania have been full members of the Schengen area since January 1, 2025. This recording means that border controls at the land boundaries to other Schengen countries, such as Hungary and Greece, have been lifted. At these limits, travelers no longer have to show identification documents, which makes it much easier to enter car and rail travelers as well as truck drivers. This will lead to less waiting times and a more smooth flow of traffic at the limits. As early as March 2024, the controls for flight and ship travelers were abolished, such as Merkur reported .

The decision on the Schengen extension was unanimously made by the 27 member states of the EU. From 2025, the border controls on land borders should also be completely eliminated, which enables the advantages of the Schengen area, which enables trips without border controls within Europe. A total of 29 countries belong to the Schengen area, including EU countries such as Germany and France as well as non-EU countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, such as Tagesschau reported .

economic effects and future developments

The lack of fully membership resulted in significant economic costs for Bulgaria and Romania. Bulgaria lost over 834 million euros annually, while Romania fought with losses of 2.32 billion euros. The Romanian transport industry in particular had annual losses of 90 million euros due to border delays. The introduction of the euro in Bulgaria may take place on January 1, 2026, depending on inflation, and the technical infrastructure for this is already available. Romania expects a euro launch in 2029.

Both countries had been waiting for the Schengen extension since 2011 and were with special surveillance of the EU Commission until September 2024 due to corruption and organized crime. The German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser welcomed the Schengen expansion and emphasized the secure foreign border protection of both countries.

-transmitted by West-Ost-Medien