Romania and Bulgaria to fully join Schengen from January 1, 2025

Romania and Bulgaria will join Schengen with land borders starting January 1, 2025. The decision taken in the Justice and Home Affairs Council was announced by the Hungarian EU presidency, and was welcomed by European Union officials.

“Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the Romanian authorities and the intense steps taken at the political-diplomatic level – and I want to highlight here in particular the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we can finally enjoy a well-deserved right, legitimately acquired by Romania. Joining the Schengen area represents a natural and necessary step in consolidating Romania’s status as a full member of the European Union. The advantages of our membership in the common area of ​​free movement are multiple and have a direct impact on citizens, the economy and the external image of our country.

The elimination of internal border controls means faster and simpler movement for those who travel, the time spent at the borders will be considerably reduced, and logistics costs for companies will decrease, which will rapidly increase the competitiveness of Romanian products and services on the European market. At the same time, Romania’s attractiveness for foreign investors will also increase considerably, who will see a commercial advantage in the increased connectivity of our country.

Full membership of the Schengen area therefore strengthens Romania’s strategic position as a gateway between Eastern and Western Europe. Joining the Schengen area has been an important strategic objective for our country.

Over time, there have been a number of obstacles, despite the fact that Romania has long been technically prepared to comply with Schengen requirements. In order to overcome all these difficulties and to convince European partners that we have every right to be part of Schengen, I have personally been involved in order to achieve a positive result.

In this regard, I have held countless discussions with my counterparts, participated in meetings and consultations aimed at convincing each country to express its support for us. Today’s decision is a clear confirmation, without any interpretation, of a reality.

Romania’s place is in the Schengen area, based on our performance and commitment. I want to congratulate all the institutions involved in this extensive effort and thank them for their hard work and perseverance in actively supporting this initiative throughout all these years. I also thank the European institutions and all the Member States that have supported us in this complex process. Romania will continue to act responsibly to protect and strengthen the Union’s external borders, including for the efficient management of illegal migration. Romania is and will remain a pro-European country.

However, recently we have seen serious attempts to minimize the importance of the European Union. Moreover, voices have been heard that dispute the benefits of our membership of the European space. Citizens have grievances and are justified in always demanding more and better from the political class in our country, but those who blame the European Union for these grievances do not wish us well.

Of course, the European Union can function better, and it is obvious that Romanian politicians need to be even more involved in order to obtain for our country as many benefits as possible that result from our European membership.

But, whenever we think of a better life and a more prosperous life, we think of what life looks like in a Western country, and we often hear the slogan “we want a country like abroad”. We want more freedoms, not more restrictions, we want more freedom of opinion, not less. So, in fact, we want more Europe, not less, and those who instigate the denial of European benefits and values ​​are opponents of democracy and freedom and want the isolation of our country.

Romania is a stable country, a solid and safe country! The European direction remains our only real path to development, and all democratic political forces have the obligation to work together to keep this path unchanged. I congratulate you and thank you!”, says Klaus Iohannis.