Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Romania and Bulgaria have a chance to join Schengen by land as of January 2025

Hungarian Minister of Interior Sandor Pinter
Photo: EPA/BGNES

Romania and Bulgaria have a chance to join the Schengen area by land as of January 2025, Hungarian Interior Minister Sándor Pinter said after an informal meeting in Budapest of the interior ministers of Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Austria
Hungary holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council and Austria is the country that has so far prevented Bulgaria's land accession to Schengen because of concerns about an increase in illegal migration.

"So far, things are going according to plan. This meeting was to take stock of the progress Bulgaria and Romania have made in the fight against illegal migration. Not to miss the efforts of Turkey, which is helping us a lot in this respect - to tackle illegal migration," Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said.

At the meeting, the ministers decided to create an additional joint contingent of 100 people at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. In the words of Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov, even if the two countries are accepted from the beginning of 2025, the border control between Romania and Bulgaria will be temporarily maintained for six months, but it will not be as it is at the moment, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The final decision on Bulgaria's and Romania's full Schengen membership will be voted on 12 December in the Justice and Home Affairs Council. 

Since March this year, Romania and Bulgaria have been part of Schengen by sea and air, and now they are awaiting the opening of their land borders.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Blagomir Kotsev

Appellate Court-Sofia leaves Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev in custody

The Sofia Appellate Court left in custody Varna Mayor Blagomir Kotsev, who is charged with corruption and participation in an organized crime group.  The judgment is final. One of the three judges, Andrey Angelov, signed with a dissenting..

published on 10/17/25 11:03 AM

Justice Minister Georgiev discusses with the EC legislative changes related to the new payment under the RRP

Bulgaria’s Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev conferred in Brussels with the European Commission team responsible for the Resilience and Recovery Plan (RRP) reforms in Bulgaria, reported the Ministry of Justice. EC: RRP payment depends on..

published on 10/17/25 9:51 AM

Bulgaria calls for the construction of a bridge over the Danube at Silistra–Călărași

''Only two bridges connect Bulgaria and Romania along our 475-kilometer shared river border – this is a transport shortfall and a new 'Iron Curtain' within the European Union'', said Bulgaria’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport and..

published on 10/17/25 9:05 AM