Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Area
Romania and Bulgaria are fully in the Schengen area as of 1 January 2025 with the consequent abolition of border controls. A boost to travel, trade and tourism, strengthening the internal market.
The European Commission first confirmed in 2011 that both Bulgaria and Romania were ready to join the Schengen area. Since then, both countries have continued to prove that they fulfil the necessary conditions to become members of the Schengen area.
At midnight between 31 December 2024 and 1 January 2025, the interior ministers of Bulgaria and Romania, Atanas Ilkov and Catalin Predoiu, met on the Ruse-Giurgiu bridge over the Danube on the border between the two countries to officially inaugurate their entry into the Schengen area.
Schengen Area
Schengen is the world’s largest area of freedom, security and justice without internal borders. It guarantees free movement to more than 450 million EU citizens, as well as third-country nationals legally residing in the EU or visiting it for tourism, study or business.
The Schengen Agreement was signed on 14 June 1985 on a boat, the Princesse Marie-Astrid, on the Moselle River in Luxembourg, near the borders with Germany and France. The governments of Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were the first signatories.
The European Union project took Schengen to the next level. With the introduction of the right to freedom of movement in 1992, the basis for a shared European area was laid. In 1997, the Union’s legal framework absorbed all Schengen rules, and in 2007 a further milestone was reached with the commitment to create an area of freedom, security and justice without internal borders.
The Schengen area is the only region in the world where mutual trust between neighbours is so strong and the value of free movement so fundamental that it has led its members to abolish border controls, sharing the benefits and responsibilities of this unprecedented integration.
A Visa will be required for entry into the UK from 2025
Schengen Member States
The European Union comprises 27 states, 26 of which are part of the Schengen area. Ireland is the only member state that does not participate. In addition, four non-EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, are associated with Schengen.
Schengen member states include:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Hungary
- Bulgaria (from 1 January 2025)
- Romania (from 1 January 2025)
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- Switzerland
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Beyond borders: security and cooperation
Schengen is not only about border-free travel. It requires close coordination both within the area and with third countries. Schengen states cooperate on security and migration through a common visa policy, joint police operations and real-time exchange of information between law enforcement agencies. In addition, harmonised procedures are adopted for the return of those who have no right to remain in the Schengen area.
Advanced technologies, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS), help identify threats and manage borders, while ensuring the protection of fundamental rights, including the processing of personal data.
