Romania and Bulgaria will become full-time members of the Schengen Area as of 1 January 2025, completing a process that dates back to 2011, when the European Commission declared both countries ready to join.
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00:00Romania and Bulgaria finally received the green light on Thursday to become full members
00:11of the passport-free Schengen area.
00:14This breakthrough was made possible after Austria agreed to lift its long-held veto
00:18on the accession of the two Eastern European countries, which was initially due to concerns
00:23about migration.
00:25In practice, the deal means the abolition of checks at internal land borders, although
00:30some checks will still remain.
00:32Although practically they will be fully members by the start of 2025, there will be some internal
00:42border controls placed by Hungary at the Romanian border and then also in the border between
00:50Bulgaria and Romania for at least six months.
00:54The Schengen area is experiencing a delicate period, with at least eight countries reintroducing
01:00temporary internal border checks one after the other, among them Germany and more recently
01:07the Netherlands, both citing a risk of irregular migration or cross-border crime.
01:12All countries have notified the EU Commission, but an analyst suggests the issue is more
01:18political than security related.
01:21So it seems that more and more countries are actually using border controls.
01:27I don't know whether or how real the risk is and how effectively these border controls
01:35can actually respond to the reasons that are stated in the notifications, but I guess they
01:45are also serve as this tool to kind of say to the domestic public that we are doing something.
01:54Internal border controls may not be that invasive actually, they may be only like random checks
02:00at the border.
02:02The Schengen agreement was founded on the principles of strengthening external borders,
02:07allowing member states to trust one another.
02:10However, this trust has been challenged by some member states regarding migration issues.
02:16There is hope among some that implementing the Asylum and Migration Pact could rejuvenate
02:21the Schengen visa-free area.