BUCHAREST, Dec 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seventeen years after Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, they have been given the green light to become members of its border-free Schengen travel zone.
The decision by fellow EU member states means that from Jan 1, 2025, it will be possible to drive all the way to France, Spain or Norway without a passport.
It’s a moment of huge relief for the 25 million people who live in Romania and Bulgaria, and who will finally feel accepted as full members of the EU. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was a “day of joy”.
Although border checks were lifted on travel by air and sea for the two countries last March, it was only last month that Austria lifted its resistance to ending border checks by land.
But for truck drivers, the border bureaucracy is not over yet.
Hungary looks set to continue inspecting each truck and its documents for at least six months at the main Romania-Hungary border crossing at Nadlac.
Bulgaria has built a new truck park and electronic barrier at Ruse, beside the bridge across the Danube to Romania, charging €25 per truck.
And “temporary” border controls have been imposed across the continent, by countries afraid of a spike in illegal migration.
The Schengen zone first became a reality in 1985 and now includes most EU nations, as well as some non-EU countries, including Norway and Switzerland.
The UK has never been in Schengen, although visitors from the UK can currently visit the zone without a visa for up to 90 days every 180 days. — NNN-AGENCIES
