Romania and Bulgaria have become full members of the European Union’s border-free Schengen area after scrapping land border controls in the bloc.

Bulgaria and Romania are holding ceremonies to mark their full membership in Europe’s Schengen area, the culmination of years of negotiations by the Eastern European countries to join the ID check-free travel zone.

Romania and Bulgaria have joined the Schengen zone on January 1, a space that now consists of 29 European countries that have abolished border controls between

Fireworks lit the sky at a crossing close to the Bulgarian border town of Ruse just after the stroke of midnight as the Bulgarian and Romanian interior ministers symbolically raised a barrier on the Friendship Bridge straddling the Danube River.

Lifting of controls at land borders will remove bottlenecks that often kept trucks loaded with goods stuck at border

Bulgaria and Romania have become full members of the Schengen Area on January 1, 2025, marking a significant expansion of the world's largest borderless travel zone.

The European Union ministers has agreed to let Bulgaria and Romania fully integrate into Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone known as the Schengen area by lifting land border controls next year.

Romania and Bulgaria have officially joined the Schengen Area as of January 1st, 2025, offering new opportunities for skilled workers

Romania and Bulgaria scrapped land border controls to become full members of the European Union's Schengen free-travel area. | One of India's leading Digital News Agency offering Breaking News round the clock.

The Bulgarian border