Air and sea borders are officially open to Bulgaria and Romania

It’s official: after thirteen years of waiting, Bulgaria and Romania entered the Schengen area, this vast European zone of free movement, at midnight local time (11 a.m. in Paris).

However, the land borders of the two countries are not affected. Restrictions on roads are maintained, fearing an influx of asylum seekers, short of a veto from Austria, the only asylum-seeking country in the European Union (EU).

Although this is a partial membership, therefore limited to airports and seaports, the stage has a strong symbolic value. “This is a great success for both countries.”European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in a press release. “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.

Romania’s Minister of Justice, Alina Gorgiu, is convinced that this standardization will attract investors and facilitate the country’s prosperity. “Romania’s attractiveness has strengthened and, in the long term, this will encourage tourism to grow”She said during a conference on Saturday.

Twenty-nine members

At Bucharest airport, where most flights serve the Schengen area, teams have been busy all week preparing for this small revolution. With a promise to increase staffing levels to conduct unannounced searches, particularly on minors “To prevent them from falling prey to human trafficking networks”, according to Govt. Deployed agents will also be there “Guide passengers and identify those who take advantage of this to leave Romania illegally”.

Because we have to show our credentials in order to hope to overcome Vienna’s reluctance. and become full members of the Schengen area, in which more than 400 million people can travel freely, without permanent controls at internal borders.

Croatia, although it entered the European Union 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, the zone created in 1985 will now include thirty-nine. Members: 25 of the 27 EU states plus their adjacent neighbors Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.

A “reversible process”

Excluded from the process, road carriers are not taking off. The wait goes on “From eight to four o’clock” on the border with Hungary, “Twenty to thirty hours with Bulgaria, with peaks in three days.” In both cases, one of the sector’s main Romanian unions was condemned in a press release “financial loss” Enormous “We’ve waited thirteen years, we’re finally here”Secretary General, Radu Dinescu reaction.

The Bulgarian boss is equally angry. “Only 3% of Bulgarian goods are transported by air and sea, the remaining 97% travel by land”Says Vasil Valev, president of BICA (Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association) organization, interviewed by Agence France-Presse. “So we are at 3% in Schengen and we don’t know when we will be authorized to join fully”he laments.

Although he hopes to make progress by the end of the year, the entrepreneur fears he will pay the price in Austria’s parliamentary elections in late September, when conservative Chancellor Karl Neuhammer faces a surge in the far-right turnout.

In any case, both Sofia and Bucharest have issued a warning: no return there. “It is clear that this process is irreversible”In early March the Romanian Minister of the Interior, Catalin Pradoiu, made the announcement, calling for it to be completed in 2024.