{"id":7332,"date":"2024-01-05T01:18:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T01:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mer.tours\/bulgaria-and-romania-will-partially-join-the-schengen-area-by-march\/"},"modified":"2024-01-05T01:18:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T01:18:46","slug":"bulgaria-and-romania-will-partially-join-the-schengen-area-by-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelaffiliatewebsite.com\/mer\/bulgaria-and-romania-will-partially-join-the-schengen-area-by-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Bulgaria and Romania will partially join the Schengen Area by March"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After more than a decade of negotiations, Romania and Bulgaria<\/a> are on track to become part of the border-free Schengen Area<\/a> \u2014 beginning with air and sea borders \u2014 by March.<\/p>\n

The Schengen Area, originally comprising 10 countries in 1995, currently includes 27 nations and allows for seamless travel among those nations without passport checks.<\/p>\n

Starting March 31, Bulgaria and Romania will both be included in the Schengen Area for land and sea border crossings. The move will allow travelers to travel among Schengen terminals \u2014 including within Romania and Bulgaria \u2014 without the need for passport checks.<\/p>\n

Both Romania and Bulgaria have been part of the European Union since 2007. However, the two countries’ previous attempts to join the border-free area were blocked due to security concerns. Austria, in particular, cited hesitation due to the potential for increased illegal immigration.<\/p>\n

Austria has now agreed that the two Balkan states can enter the border-free zone, provided it happens in stages, beginning with sea and air.<\/p>\n

Negotiations for the removal of land border controls remain ongoing and will continue through 2024, though their eventual removal is anticipated to further streamline travel for the region, which has historically faced challenges with extended waiting times at road and rail borders.<\/p>\n

The last nation to join the Schengen Area was Croatia<\/a>, which officially joined in January 2023. Should Bulgaria and Romania be granted full Schengen entry, Ireland and Cyprus would be left as the only EU countries outside the zone.<\/p>\n

In a statement on X (formerly known as Twitter), the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called the decision “a day of great pride for Bulgaria and Romania” and “a major step forward for them and for the Schengen Area.”<\/p>\n

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What is the Schengen Area?<\/h2>\n
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