The date of Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession by land will be decided only after March 31, 2024, once the air and sea borders checks are removed, the Council of the European Union has revealed following the agreement by the Member States for a gradual Schengen accession for these two countries.

In a statement issued on December 30, the Council has applauded the move, pointing out that the removal of air and sea border controls for Bulgaria and Romania will correspond with the change of the winter/summer schedule set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The EU Commission on the other hand, has pointed out that the decision on a date for a possible removal of land border checks is expected to be taken within a reasonable time frame.

The latter has also revealed that several pilot projects that have been developed by Bulgaria and Romania at the external borders, and have resulted successful, will now be turned into a more structural arrangement. At the same time, the EU will continue to provide substantial financial support and Frontex assistance to both countries, in order to make sure their borders with non-EU countries are efficiently supervised.

Commenting on the agreement by the EU member states to permit the gradual Schengen Accession of these two countries, the Spanish Minister for the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez, has asserted that with this move, the EU is building a stronger area of free movement.

The EU Commission has asserted that Bulgaria and Romania were ready to join Schengen since 2011 and, throughout recent years, has continuously reiterated their readiness.

This will be the ninth enlargement of the Schengen Area, which was first established in 1985 by France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Schengen currently counts 27 member countries, with four million square kilometers and almost 420 million people.