Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of the open-borders Schengen area from January 2025 following a crunch meeting in neighboring Hungary this week, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Monday.
European Union and NATO members Romania and Bulgaria entered the 29-country Schengen area by air and see in March 2024 after reaching a partial agreement with Austria, which had opposed their joining saying illegal immigration was still too high.
Negotiations for land entry have continued through 2024.
Hungary which holds the rotating presidency of the EU will host a meeting of Austrian, Romanian and Bulgarian interior ministers on Friday.
“The meeting on Friday is very important, that is why I agreed with Hungary’s prime minister I will go to Hungary … on the day interior ministers get together to close the final document,” Ciolacu told private television channel Antena3.
Romania holds the first round of presidential elections on Nov. 24, in which he is running, and the prime minister’s presence will likely give him a boost ahead of the ballot.
“We already have an agreed calendar. It will happen from Jan. 1, 2025. Those who come home for the holidays will leave much easier after.”
Romania and Bulgaria are on major routes for the illegal arms trade and drug and human trafficking, but the European Commission has said a thorough investigation has shown they met all Schengen requirements.
Joining Schengen would add half a percentage point to Romania’s annual economic growth, according to finance ministry projections.
