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 them.
It was reported by Bloomberg.
The agency notes that both countries have been pushing for the abolition of land border controls for almost two decades.
Tens of thousands of Romanian and Bulgarian residents who, after joining the EU in 2007, moved to other countries in the bloc to work were forced to spend several hours at the border.
From today, Romanians and Bulgarians can count on relief during return trips to their relatives for Christmas.
In March 2023, the European Union already allowed Romania and Bulgaria to travel without a passport by air and sea. However, Bucharest and Sofia have been arguing all this time that land border controls are of key importance.
According to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, without queues at land borders, Bulgarian residents could save 242,000 days spent waiting at checkpoints.
As the Ukrainian News agency reported, in February 2024, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced its desire to create a "military Schengen" for the rapid transfer of personnel and equipment.
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