Schengen Area officially admits 2 more members

From today, January 1, 2025, Romania and Bulgaria become official members of the Schengen area, thereby expanding the border and passport control-free zone in Europe to 29 member states.

The Schengen area now has 29 members after Romania and Bulgaria officially joined. (Source: Dreamstime)

Schengen news reported that the expansion of the Schengen area officially took place on January 1, with events held at the border gates of these countries.

Romania and Bulgaria, both members of the European Union (EU) since 2007, will step into the Schengen area from March 2024, when they eliminate border checks at seaports and airports.

Austria has threatened to veto full accession of the two countries over immigration concerns, meaning border controls will remain in place at land border crossings.

By November 2024, Austria, Romania and Bulgaria had reached an agreement on a “border protection package” that would pave the way for Bucharest and Sofia to join Schengen. The agreement provides for the joint deployment of Bulgarian-Turkish border guards and temporary controls at land border crossings for an initial period of six months.

The Schengen Area was established in 1985 and currently includes 25 of the 27 EU member states and the non-EU countries Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It has a total population of over 400 million people.

Romania and Bulgaria have met the technical requirements of the Schengen area to become members since 2011. According to experts' estimates, joining the Schengen area would boost Romania and Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) by at least 1%.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/khoi-schengen-chinh-thuc-ket-nap-them-2-thanh-vien-299323.html