Lifting the barriers: Bulgaria and Romania are now full members of the Schengen area

Minister of Interior Atanas Ilkov and his Romanian counterpart Catalin Predoiu symbolically raised the barrier at the Danube Bridge border checkpoint near Ruse-Giurgevo at midnight, marking the full acceptance of the two countries into Schengen, BTA reported.

"It is an extraordinary pleasure, responsibility and privilege for me to be with you today. We have been working with you for more than 17 years to achieve this goal. We have gone through many challenges, but we succeeded. Therefore, today we can congratulate each other on our success," Atanas Ilkov addressed the representatives of the Romanian side. In his words, this is a historic success for both countries, achieved jointly on the basis of trust. He thanked his Romanian counterpart for the invitation to be together at the border crossing today, as well as for the efforts made to achieve "this cherished goal". Ilkov thanked the Bulgarian and Romanian employees in the ministries of interior for the efforts made in recent years, so that we can congratulate each other on this success today. Ilkov also said that joining Schengen is a success for Bulgarian business as well. 

"Bulgaria and Romania have completed a project that is important not only for the two countries, but also for Europe," said Katalin Predoiu. He added that the moment is historic and has deserved its political significance. This is an extremely important moment for both the economic sector and the citizens of both countries, Predoiu added. "With the support of European partners, Bulgaria and Romania have once again demonstrated that the European Union is a formation that is alive, he added. In the life of every nation there are both moments of difficulty and moments of ups and downs. Let us accept and experience this new moment with open hearts and with joy. I want to thank both the Romanian and Bulgarian colleagues, as well as the European partners. We all worked together to implement this project, Predoiu added."

There was also a short ceremony at the border crossing near Ruse. There, Ilkov presented Predoiu with a sign with the inscription "Schengen" and the date 12.12.2024, on which the decision was made to accept the two countries as full members of the Schengen area.

The Director of the Border Police Directorate, Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, said that in order to achieve such sharp progress over the past year and a half, trust has increased a lot. "Trust is at a very high level in our neighbors and in all other Western European partners from the European Union, in Frontex. We have no doubt and they have no doubt in us. At the moment, what we have achieved - Bulgaria and Romania - is that the ministries of interior and border police of both countries are in the best possible condition, in the best condition due to the many tests and trials that we have undergone in recent years. Our level is extremely high and this is appreciated by our European partners," Zlatanov said.

Bulgaria's Ambassador to Romania Radko Vlaykov said that this is a historic moment for both countries. "I believe that this will help to see the communication and everything that we have started within the framework of a strategic partnership signed between the presidents of both countries on March 15, 2023. I hope that the new Romanian government will find contact with the possible new Bulgarian government and work to implement all goals," Vlaykov said.

Until now, all people and vehicles passing through the Danube Bridge border checkpoint were subject to a mandatory 100 percent inspection. From midnight, passenger cars traveling to our northern neighbor will pay a "bridge" fee on the Bulgarian side, then they will cross the bridge, and from the Romanian side only a small part of them will be subject to border control using the "risk analysis" method.

The order for passing in the opposite direction will be mirrored, explained the director of the Regional Directorate "Border Police" in Ruse, Commissioner Dimitar Chorbadzhiev. This also applies to heavy goods vehicles. For example, in the direction of Romania they will again pay a "bridge" fee on the Bulgarian side, and only a part of them will be checked on Romanian territory. If possible, the control will be carried out even before they appear in the border crossing area.

Thus, from today Bulgaria is already a full member of the Schengen area. On 12 December last year, the Council of the European Union (EU) decided to abolish checks at the land Schengen borders of Bulgaria and Romania. Bulgaria and Romania have been expecting to join Schengen since 2010, when the EU Council assessed that the legal requirements had been met. In the years that followed, despite this assessment and repeated calls by the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament (EP), the necessary unanimity was not achieved in the EU Council.