Romania and Bulgaria became full members of the Schengen zone on Wednesday, expanding the border-free zone to 29 members and ending a 13-year wait for the two eastern European countries.
The expansion, made possible after Austria and other members dropped their objections to former communist countries joining, officially took place at midnight on Wednesday with ceremonies at various border checkpoints.
Romania and Bulgaria, both EU members since 2007, were partially included in the Schengen area in March, eliminating border checks at ports and airports.
But Austria had threatened to veto their full entry over migration concerns, meaning controls at land border crossings are still in place.
Vienna withdrew its veto threat in December after the three countries reached agreement on a “border security package”, clearing the way for Romania and Bulgaria, the EU’s two poorest countries, to join Schengen.
Overlap with EU but not identical
The region, created in 1985, will now include 25 of the 27 EU members as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, totaling more than 400 million people.
Romania and Bulgaria had met the technical requirements of the Schengen Area for membership since 2011.
But “member states objected every time it tried to join”, analyst Valentin Naumescu told Agence France-Presse.
“This became a source of frustration exploited by anti-EU parties, who alleged that Romania was being treated unfairly,” he said.
This resentment came to the fore in Romania’s recent presidential elections, in which far-right candidate Calin Georgescu won a surprise victory in the first round, before the election was canceled amid claims of Russian interference.
Now, Naumescu said, “the feeling of being a second-class citizen” must end.
nations came to an agreement
Leaders from both parties hailed the extension as “historic”.
Austria had for years complained of hosting a disproportionate number of undocumented migrants as a result of poorly protected external Schengen borders.
It dropped its objections to Romania (pop. 19 million) and Bulgaria (6.5 million) joining Schengen after the three countries signed a border security agreement in November.
The deal provides for the joint deployment of guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border and temporary control over land crossings for an initial period of six months.
Analysts estimate that joining the region would increase the GDP of Romania and Bulgaria by at least one percentage point.
Truck drivers celebrating change
Lorry drivers, who currently wait up to 20 hours at border crossings, celebrated the news.
“It was a complete waste of time for drivers, who couldn’t even stop to rest because they had to move their vehicles every 10 minutes,” said Beniamin Lucescu, head of the Romanian Transport Federation.
Poor road and railway infrastructure in Bulgaria may limit the positive impact there.
Meanwhile, the countries’ tourism sectors are expecting an increase in the number of tourists from both countries to nearby Greece.
“This is very good news,” said sales manager Ivailo Kirkov, 46, who owns a house in northern Greece. “We were waiting anxiously.”
Greek teacher and tour guide Guergui Grantcharov predicted an influx of Romanian and Bulgarian tourists to Greece.
With no queues at the border, “it takes just over four hours to get from Sofia to Thessaloniki,” he said.