Romania and Bulgaria would join Europe’s borderless Schengen area completely from January 2025, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced.
European Union and NATO members Romania and Bulgaria entered the 29-nation Schengen area by air and sea in March after reaching a partial agreement with Austria. However, negotiations on land entry continued until 2024.
Land borders are a major challenge for the two countries. According to the Romanian road hauliers’ union, truckers typically wait eight to 16 hours at the border with Hungary and 20 to 30 hours at the border with Bulgaria. Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, truckers wait in queues at the borders with Greece and Romania.
Romania believes the country loses 10 billion euros a year, as it is not a full member of the Schengen area, whereas Bulgaria says its economy lost 1 billion euros last year.
The European Commission has maintained for more than 10 years that Bulgaria and Romania fulfil the conditions for joining the Schengen area, but since the decision to admit new members must be taken unanimously, there has always been one or more countries blocking the enlargement.
The interior ministers of Austria, Romania and Bulgaria will meet in Hungary on Friday. Hungary holds the EU Council presidency, having made Schengen enlargement one of its priorities. Ciolacu stated:
The meeting on Friday is very important, that is why I agreed with Hungary’s prime minister I will go to Hungary … on the day interior ministers get together to close the final document. But we already have an agreed calendar. It will happen from 1 January 2025. Those who come home for the holidays will leave much easier after.
The Finance Ministry estimates that joining the European open borders area will add half a per cent to Romania’s annual economic growth.
