Highlights: Bulgaria and Romania partially enter the Schengen area. Romanian travelers will no longer need to present a passport or visa to travel to the EU. But for now, on the roads, controls will be maintained, to the great dismay of truck drivers. Croatia, which entered the EU after Romania (19 million inhabitants) and Bulgaria (6.5 million), members since 2007, beat them to the punch in January 2023. If this accession is only partial for the moment, it should not have a significant impact for the citizens of these countries.

After 13 years in the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria officially entered this vast zone of free movement, with the notable exception of land borders, on Sunday March 31.

Bulgaria and Romania partially enter the Schengen area

After 13 years in the European Union, Romania and Bulgaria officially entered this vast zone of free movement, with the notable exception of land borders, on Sunday March 31.

Romanian travelers will no longer need to present a passport or visa to travel to the EU. © Andreea Alexandru / AP

By: RFI with AFP

After long years of negotiations with

Romania

and

Bulgaria

, the Twenty-Seven lifted controls at air and sea borders. Now, at ports and airports, Bulgarian and Romanian passengers no longer need to present a passport or visa to travel within the

European Union

. But for now, on the roads, controls will be maintained, to the great dismay of truck drivers. Austria vetoed it

for

fear of an influx of asylum seekers.

Bulgaria and Romania being full members of the EU, their nationals already had the right to travel, but also to work freely in other countries of the European Union, explains our correspondent in Sofia,

Damian Vodenitcharov

. From a security point of view, the Bulgarian and Romanian authorities have already had access to all Schengen databases for years.

Until then, the Schengen area included 27 members: the countries of the European Union, with the exception of Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus. As well as four non-member states: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

This support may be partial, but it is seen as a victory by elected officials and the government. It’s “

a question of dignity

,” notes Stefan Popescu, an international relations expert based in Bucharest. “

Every Romanian, when he took a separate line from other European nationals, felt treated differently.

For Yves Pascouau, specialist in migration and movement issues within the European Union, Bulgaria must first resolve the question of controls on its border with Turkey before considering full membership: “

There is still room for work to be carried out to ensure that the controls carried out between Bulgaria and Turkey are effective. And at that time, we will be able to decide – again, unanimously and at a later date – on the lifting of controls at land borders. And then, from this point of view, Romania and Bulgaria will fully enter the Schengen area.

Anger of Romanian and Bulgarian road hauliers

A small revolution in Romanian airports where the staff must be reinforced to carry out unannounced checks, particularly with regard to minors "

in order to prevent them from falling prey to human trafficking networks

", according to the government. Because we must show our credentials to hope to overcome Vienna's reluctance and become full members of the Schengen area, within which more than 400 million people can travel freely, without internal border controls. Croatia, which entered the EU after Romania (19 million inhabitants) and Bulgaria (6.5 million), members since 2007, beat them to the punch in January 2023.

If this accession is only partial for the moment, it should not have a significant impact for the citizens of these two countries. But as Yves Pascouau explains to RFI, this remains a political message: “

It has been more than 10 years today since the European Commission and the European Parliament gave the green light for Romania and Bulgaria to fully enter into the Schengen area, that is to say that internal border controls are lifted. It's a start and it means that from now on, the next step is indeed the lifting of controls at land borders, and therefore, it is the finalization of this process.

Excluded from the process, road carriers are not taking off. The wait lasts “

from 8 to 16 hours

” at the border with Hungary, “

from 20 to 30 hours with Bulgaria, with peaks of three days

” in both cases, lamented one of the main leaders in a press release. Romanian unions in the sector, deploring colossal “

financial losses

”. In summer, Bulgarian holidaymakers wishing to take their vacation in Greece can sometimes spend hours waiting while queues for trucks sometimes stretch for several kilometers at the Romanian border. Bulgarian bosses, angry like the truckers, hope for progress by the end of 2024.

Bulgaria and Romania partially enter the Schengen area

Bulgaria and Romania partially enter the Schengen area

Anger of Romanian and Bulgarian road hauliers

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