Romania and Bulgaria join borderless Schengen zone

The expansion of Europe's Schengen zone - guaranteeing free movement to more than 425 million EU citizens - is being celebrated by two new members as the New Year is welcomed across the continent.

The advent of 2025 sees Romania and Bulgaria becoming full members of the Schengen zone, expanding the borderless area to 29 members and ending a 13-year wait for the two eastern European countries.

The expansion was made possible when Austria and other members dropped their objections to the two countries joining.

Romania and Bulgaria, both members of the European Union since 2007, were partially included in the Schengen zone in March, eliminating border checks at ports and airports.

But Austria had threatened to veto their full entry over migration concerns, which meant that controls still applied at land border crossings.

Vienna backed off its veto threat in December after the three countries reached a deal on a "border protection package", clearing the way for Romania and Bulgaria, two of the EU's poorest countries, to join Schengen.

Created in 1985, the zone will now include 25 of the EU's 27 members, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Romania and Bulgaria had met the Schengen zone's technical requirements for membership since 2011.

But "member states objected every time" they tried to join, according to analyst Valentin Naumescu. That became "a source of frustration exploited by anti-EU parties, which alleged Romania was being treated unfairly", he said.

'Historic'

Leaders on both sides hailed the expansion as "historic".

Austria had for years complained about hosting a disproportionate number of undocumented migrants as a result of poorly protected external Schengen borders.

It dropped its objections to Romania (population 19 million) and Bulgaria (6.5 million) joining Schengen after the three countries signed a border protection agreement in November.

The deal provides for the joint deployment of guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border and temporary controls at land crossings for an initial period of six months.

Joining the zone will boost both Romania's and Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) by at least one percentage point, analysts estimate.

Lorry drivers, who currently wait up to 20 hours at border crossings, celebrated the news.

"It was a pure waste of time for drivers, who couldn't even stop to rest because they had to move their vehicles every 10 minutes," said Beniamin Lucescu, head of a Romanian transport federation.

However, poor road and railroad infrastructure in Bulgaria could limit the positive impact there.

The countries' tourism sectors are meanwhile expecting a surge in visitors from the two countries to nearby Greece.