As of January 1, 2025, Romania and
Bulgaria are full members of the Schengen Area. The decision
came after Austria, the most vocal opponent of full membership
in the European Union, lifted its veto about a month ago. The
Council of the European Union thus lifted land border controls
with both Bulgaria and Romania and between the two countries,
based on a decision by EU member states. As reported by the
Council on its website, Sandor Pinter, Hungarian Minister of
Home Affairs, spoke of "a historic moment," the "lifting of
controls on persons at internal land borders with these member
states and between them has been a top priority of the Hungarian
presidency and today we have made it a reality. This step will
benefit not only Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, but also the
EU as a whole." Since their accession to the EU, Bulgaria and
Romania have implemented parts of the Schengen legal framework
(Schengen acquis), including those related to external border
controls, police cooperation and the use of the Schengen
Information System.On December 30, 2023, the Council adopted a
decision to implement the remaining parts of the Schengen acquis
and to abolish checks on persons at internal air and sea borders
as of March 31, 2024.Schengen is the largest free movement zone
in the world. Border controls between France, Germany,
Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were lifted for the
first time in 1985. The Schengen area currently includes 29
countries (25 of the 27 member states, as well as Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and 420 million people.
Internal border controls with Cyprus have not yet been lifted,
and Ireland is not part of the Schengen area.
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