EU lets Bulgaria and Romania fully integrate into Europe's ID-check-free travel zone

BRUSSELS — European Union ministers on Thursday 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 from next year, the EU's Hungarian presidency said.

Bulgaria and Romania joined the Schengen area in March after years of negotiations, providing free access for travelers arriving in both countries by air or sea.

However, land border checks remained in place due to opposition, chiefly from Austria, over concerns that the two countries were not doing enough to prevent migrants from entering without authorization.

''Interior ministers have just adopted a decision to lift internal land border controls with and between Bulgaria and Romania,'' the Hungarian presidency posted on X. ''A great victory for Bulgaria, Romania, and all of Europe!'' Land border checks will end from Jan. 1.

Romania's Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said the decision would be a ''major benefit'' to his country's economy and enable ''faster journeys home for the millions of Romanians'' living and traveling within the Schengen area.

Freedom of movement is central to European integration. More than 420 million people live in the Schengen area, and their freedom to move across borders helps businesses and tourism to flourish.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis called it a ''natural and necessary step'' that will significantly reduce wait times at borders, lower logistical costs for businesses, and attract foreign investors.

He added that Romania would ''continue to act responsibly to protect and strengthen the EU's external borders'' to manage illegal migration.

The Schengen Area was established in 1985. Before Bulgaria and Romania's partial admission, it was comprised of 23 of the 27 EU member countries, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Around 3.5 million people cross an internal border each day.

Economists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences calculated that with the decision, the total positive financial effect for Bulgaria would amount to 800 million euro ($840 million) per year.

Bulgarian Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov said it was ''a historic day for Bulgaria, for Bulgarian citizens, for Bulgarian businesses, for the government.''

''This is a well-deserved result of all our efforts over the past years, efforts made by all employees of the ministry of internal affairs,'' he said. ''These efforts included physical security at the Bulgarian-Turkish border, using all available resources.''

On Thursday at Bulgaria's Kulata border checkpoint with Greece, known for its huge traffic jams for trucks and tourists, most drivers hailed the decision.

Nazum Kasumov, a 61-year-old truck driver, told The Associated Press that full Schengen accession "should have happened a long time ago. "We usually queue here for two days,'' he said, adding that drivers face similar lengthy delays at other checkpoints.

''If there's no border check that will save a lot of nerves (and) delays," said Nikolay Iliev, another truck driver waiting at Kulata. ''We are fully accepted in Schengen, and that makes me very happy.''

The Schengen area is one of the main achievements of the European project. It started as an intergovernmental project between five EU countries — France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — and has gradually expanded to become the largest free travel area in the world.

However, several Schengen member countries, including the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, this year reinstated some land border checks, over concerns ranging from migration to security. Some EU officials warned the reimposed checks could undermine the scheme's goals.