SOFIA, Bulgaria/Correspondent LP/- After years of diplomatic ballet, Romania and Bulgaria finally danced their way into the Schengen Area, shedding land border checks in a move that has been years in the making.
As the sun heralded the dawn of a new year, Bulgaria’s interim Prime Minister, Dimitar Glavchev, made history by lifting the symbolic barrier at the Kulata crossing between Bulgaria and Greece. With a flourish, he declared, “Today marks a historic achievement, the culmination of relentless efforts by countless individuals. Thanks to the dedication of our border police, military, Frontex, and our European Union allies, we can now better protect the EU’s external frontiers from Greece to Finland.”
The midnight hour on January 1st witnessed a momentous meeting between the interior ministers of Bulgaria and Romania at the Ruse-Giurgiu border crossing, celebrating the opening of their frontier. Similarly, a brief ceremony unfolded at a border crossing between Hungary and Romania, uniting Hungary’s national police chief and Romania’s border police chief inspector in shared jubilation.
The anticipation has finally ended. Now, 25 million residents from Bulgaria and Romania join nearly 450 million EU citizens in the freedom to roam the Schengen zone without land border checks. Although they partially entered the Schengen Area in March, this freedom was previously limited to air and sea travelers.
After seventeen years in the EU and negotiations dating back to 2011, Bulgaria and Romania have now fully embraced the Schengen dream, symbolizing a unified and borderless Europe.
