Romania, Bulgaria to join Schengen by air, sea in March

Following the opening of air and sea borders, discussions will be held on the application of the Schengen acquis at the land borders, Romania's interior ministry said.

Restrictions on cross-border road travel are expected to be lifted in 2025, Romanian daily Adevarul reported, citing government sources.

"After 13 years, Romania is finally going to join Schengen! We have a political agreement on this," Romanian prime minister Marcel Ciolacu wrote in a social media post.

Austria, which has posed the primary obstacle within the European Union for Romania and Bulgaria to join the open-travel area, earlier this month signalled willingness to ease the veto by offering air access. Officially, it remains opposed to the full accession of both eastern European countries, asserting that the area should improve before expanding.

Romania and Bulgaria, EU members since 2007, faced rejection from the Schengen area at the end of 2022 due to a veto by Austria.

The Schengen area, established in 1985, comprises 23 out of the 27 EU member states, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.