Since this Sunday, the Schengen area has had two new members. After 13 years of waiting, Romania and Bulgaria officially entered this vast zone of free movement at midnight, with the notable exception of land borders.
On the roads, checks will be maintained for the time being, to the great dismay of truck drivers. Blame the veto of Austria, the only refractory country in the EU for fear of an influx of asylum seekers.
Ursula von der Leyen judges this moment “historic”
Despite this partial membership, therefore limited to airports and seaports, the stage has a strong symbolic value. “This is a great success for both countries,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This is a historic moment for the Schengen area, the largest area of free movement in the world. Together, we are building a stronger and more united Europe for all our citizens,” she said.
Romanian Justice Minister Alina Gorghiu, for her part, is convinced that this normalization will attract investors and benefit the country’s prosperity. “Romania’s attractiveness is strengthened and ultimately, this will encourage an increase in tourism,” she said on Saturday.
The Romanian government also intends to strengthen customs personnel, particularly with regard to minors “in order to prevent them from falling prey to human trafficking networks”. In the airports, the agents deployed will also be there to “guide passengers and identify those who would take advantage of this to leave Romania illegally”.
A zone of now 29 members
Bucharest and Sofia must indeed show their credentials to hope to overcome Vienna’s reluctance. The aim is to ultimately become full members of the Schengen area, within which more than 400 million people can travel freely, without permanent controls at internal borders. Croatia, which entered the EU after Romania (19 million inhabitants) and Bulgaria (6.5 million), members since 2007, beat them to the punch in January 2023.
With this double entry, this zone created in 1985 now includes 29 members: 25 of the 27 states of the European Union as well as their associated neighbors which are Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.