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

Before the euro adoption people are pessimistic about the economic present and future

The overall consumer confidence index in October 2025 fell by 4 points compared to July, the National Statistical Institute has reported. In July, the indicator decreased by 4.7 points compared to April. In October, there was an..

published on 11/7/25 1:24 PM
Major General Deyan Deshkov

Bulgaria to equip its military units with drone control simulators

By mid-December, all military units in the country will be equipped with drone control simulators, said Major General Deyan Deshkov, Commander of the Land Forces, at the Lyulyak training ground near Stara Zagora. He clarified that the drones have..

published on 11/7/25 11:21 AM

The state proposes the appointment of a special commercial administrator for Lukoil Bulgaria

Swiss commodity trader Gunvor said it has withdrawn its proposal to buy Lukoil’s foreign assets, including the refinery in Burgas, after the U.S. Treasury called it Russia’s ‘puppet’, Reuters reported. Prime Minister: Bulgaria has a..

published on 11/7/25 11:04 AM