Bulgaria and Romania partially join Europe’s Schengen travel Area

Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the Schengen Area after a 13-year-long wait, allowing citizens of both countries freedom to move by air and sea without inspection between the countries of this region, which will keep their land borders closed to them for the time being.

“This step constitutes a great success for both countries,” Agence France-Presse quoted EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as saying in a statement.

“This is a historic moment for the Schengen area and the building of a stronger and more united Europe for all our citizens” according to der Leyen.

Efforts must be made to appease Vienna and push it to abandon its reservations and eventually join as a full member of the Schengen Area, where more than 400 million people from the two countries can travel freely without checks at internal borders.

At the airport of the Romanian capital, from which the majority of flights to the Schengen Area depart, crews have been working tirelessly since the beginning of the week to adapt to this “major achievement.”

For its part, the Romanian government stressed the need to strengthen crews to conduct surprise checks, especially regarding  those underage, to prevent them from falling into human trafficking networks.

Croatia, which joined the European Union after Romania and Bulgaria, preceded them in this step, joining the Schengen area last January.

After this double joining of the two countries, the number of members will reach 29 in this area, which was established in 1985 and includes 25 of the 27 European Union countries, in addition to the neighboring countries with which it has distinguished partnerships including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Rawaa Ghanam