SOFIA/RUSE – Starting from midnight on January 1, 2025, routine border checks among Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece will officially be abolished. This milestone follows the recent approval by the EU Council of the final step toward Bulgaria and Romania’s complete integration into the Schengen area.
To mark this occasion, the last border barrier between Bulgaria and Romania will be ceremonially removed by the interior ministers of both countries, Atanas Ilkov and Cătălin Predoiu, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, as reported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On January 1, Bulgaria’s Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, accompanied by ministers and officials from government institutions, will visit the “Koulata” checkpoint at the Bulgarian-Greek border. The Prime Minister will oversee the organization at the site and symbolically remove the border barrier, according to information released by the government.
The EU Council decided on December 12 to allow Bulgaria and Romania entry into Schengen by land from January 1, 2025, wrapping up the Hungarian presidency. Prior to this, the abolition of air and sea border checks for both countries took place on March 31, following a decision made during the Spanish Presidency in 2023.
In the first half of the new year, random checks will be implemented at the borders between Bulgaria and Romania, as well as Romania and Hungary. Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, head of the General Directorate “Border Police,” mentioned in November that these temporary checks would focus on curbing illegal migration, with an expected inspection rate of about 5 to 10% of vehicles leaving Bulgaria at the border zone.
Measures against illegal migration, drug trafficking, and smuggling of prohibited goods will also be enforced at the border with Greece, according to Zlatanov.
Earlier in December, Bulgaria’s Acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Atanas Ilkov, indicated that border security efforts would be heightened along the Bulgarian-Turkish border after January 1. He announced the deployment of an international police contingent consisting of 100 officers from Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, and Hungary, set to begin operations on January 2. Greece has also expressed interest in joining these collaborative efforts.
Minister Ilkov emphasized the commitment to ensuring the safety and security of both Bulgarian citizens and other EU nationals. (December 31, 2024)
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