Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the Schengen Area Tuesday night, with ceremonies taking place to celebrate the end of lengthy negotiations, AP reports.
As of midnight, identification checks at the land borders between these countries and their neighboring EU members ceased, allowing free travel across the 27-member bloc.
Both countries had partially joined in March, with travel restricted to air and sea arrivals.
On Tuesday, the interior ministers of Bulgaria and Romania met at the Ruse-Giurgiu border to mark the opening, while another ceremony took place at a Hungary-Romania border crossing.
The Schengen expansion followed months of efforts by Hungary during its EU presidency.
After more than a decade of waiting, Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of Europe’s Schengen free-travel area starting January 1, 2025, following Austria's decision to lift its veto.
Austria has lifted its veto on Romania and Bulgaria’s full Schengen membership, paving the way for EU ministers to finalize their entry this week. This decision follows a significant reduction in illegal border crossings, a result of Austria's immigration demands.
Romania and Bulgaria may become full members of Europe's borderless Schengen travel zone in January 2025, Hungary said on Friday, adding a final decision would be made at next month's meeting of EU interior ministers.
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