Bulgaria and Romania become full Schengen members

At yesterday's Council of Ministers of the Interior in Brussels, a decision was made by which, from January 1, 2025, Bulgaria and Romania will abolish border controls on their internal land borders.

With the accession of these two countries, the Schengen area expands to 29 countries, which will further strengthen cooperation without borders within Europe. The decision was made after several years of negotiations and the removal of objections from the Netherlands and Austria, which resisted for a long time due to fear of illegal migration and poor border control.

Obstacles

The process of accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen has been dragging on since 2011. The Netherlands and Austria have argued for years that the countries are not doing enough in the fight against corruption, organized crime and strengthening border controls.

This criticism led to repeated blockades, despite the support of other member states of the bloc. However, in recent years, Romania and Bulgaria have taken different steps to meet the requirements.

A major breakthrough occurred earlier this year, when residents of both countries were already able to travel freely through airports and seaports within Schengen.

Final accession on 1 January 2025 will also abolish border controls for land travel, thus fully realizing the free movement of people.

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One of the main reasons why the Netherlands and Austria gave up their resistance is the significant drop in the number of migrants entering Europe via Eastern European border routes.

The border between Austria and Hungary, long a hotbed of illegal migration, has seen a drop from 70.000 intercepted migrants in 2022 to just 4.000 last year. These figures eventually convinced Austria to withdraw its veto.

Border control

In the Netherlands too, the decline in migration and improved cooperation in the area of ​​border control led to a change of course. Minister Marjolein Faber, responsible for asylum and migration, gave the green light on behalf of the Netherlands, despite opposition within her own party.

The enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria represents an important milestone, but it also exposes the vulnerabilities of the Schengen system. Although this area, with its 420 million inhabitants, is the largest borderless area of ​​cooperation in the world, internal border controls are increasingly being temporarily re-introduced.

During the coronavirus pandemic and more recently due to concerns about irregular migration, several member states have taken measures that have put Schengen principles to the test.

The Netherlands also decided this week to introduce temporary border controls at the borders with Germany and Belgium.

The Marechaussee has deployed additional personnel to combat irregular migration and cross-border crime, although this is a relatively limited deployment: around fifty additional employees have been made available to guard 840 border crossings.

Solidarity as a foundation

Despite the challenges, Schengen enlargement remains a powerful symbol of European solidarity. For Romania and Bulgaria, accession is not only a recognition of their reform efforts, but also a sign of confidence in their role within European cooperation.

Full integration into Schengen opens the door to its citizens for easier travel, greater economic opportunities and easier contact with family and friends elsewhere in Europe.

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