The General Inspectorate of the Romanian Border Force said controls will be “eliminated” at road and rail crossings, plus two ports on the River Danube on the country’s borders with Bulgaria and Hungary.
Bulgaria is also removing controls on its EU borders.
The moves follow in the wake of a December 12 decision by EU ministers to allow the two countries to join the zone.
In the spring, Bulgaria and Romania saw air and sea travel restrictions lifted in a moved that the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, hailed as being “a historic moment for the Schengen Area”.
However, until now road and rail border checks remained in place amid concerns that they could be used as channels for illegal migration. In 2023, Austria torpedoed Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen bid due to such worries, with the Netherlands also joining Austria to voice similar concerns about Bulgaria.
As of midnight, though, border crossings will become a thing of the past, thereby putting an end to the long queues that the checkpoints had become known for.
However, in line with other European countries, random checks by border guards will still be carried out within a 30-kilometer distance from the borderline.
Speaking in March when the first travel restrictions were lifted, Nikolay Denkov, Bulgaria’s then prime minister, said: “After 2007 and Bulgaria’s accession to the EU, this is the biggest success of Bulgarian diplomacy, Bulgarian institutions and Bulgarian politicians.”
Established in 1985, the Schengen Area has enabled over 400 million people to travel freely without border checks and has grown to cover 25 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Up until now, Romania and Bulgaria were the only EU members not to enjoy the Schengen Area’s full benefits.
But the two countries join the zone at a time it has come under increasing pressure. Germany has introduced passport controls on its borders in an apparent bid to combat migration, triggering fears that other countries might follow suit.
