Romania, Bulgaria join Schengen zone

BUCHAREST — Romania and Bulgaria became full members of the Schengen zone on Wednesday, expanding the borderless area to 29 members and ending a 13-year wait for the two eastern European countries.

The expansion, made possible when Austria and other members dropped their objections to the countries joining, officially took place at midnight on Wednesday, marked by ceremonies at various border posts.

Romania and Bulgaria, both members of the European Union since 2007, were partially included in the Schengen zone in March, eliminating border checks at ports and airports.

But Austria had threatened to veto their full entry over migration concerns, which meant that controls still applied at land border crossings.

Austria had for years complained about hosting a disproportionate number of undocumented migrants as a result of poorly protected external Schengen borders.

It dropped its objections to Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen after the three countries signed a border protection agreement in November.

The deal provides for the joint deployment of guards at the Bulgarian-Turkish border and temporary controls at land crossings for an initial period of six months.

Created in 1985, the Schengen zone will now include 25 of the EU's 27 members, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, covering a total population of more than 400 million people.

Romania and Bulgaria had met the Schengen zone's technical requirements for membership since 2011.

But "member states objected every time" they tried to join, analyst Valentin Naumescu said.

That became "a source of frustration exploited by anti-EU parties, which alleged Romania was being treated unfairly", he added.

Now "that feeling of being second-class citizens" should fade, he said.

Many hailed the expansion as "historic".

Joining the zone will boost Romania's and Bulgaria's GDP growth by at least one percentage point, analysts estimated.

Truck drivers, who currently wait up to 20 hours at border crossings, celebrated the news.

"It was a pure waste of time for drivers, who couldn't even stop to rest because they had to move their vehicles every 10 minutes," said Beniamin Lucescu, head of a Romanian transport federation.

Poor road and railroad infrastructure in Bulgaria could limit the positive impact there, but tourism sectors are expecting a surge in visitors from the two countries to nearby Greece.

Greek teacher and tour guide Gueorgui Grantcharov predicted a rush of Romanian and Bulgarian tourists to Greece.

With no lines at the border, "it takes just over four hours to get from Sofia to Thessaloniki", he said.

Agencies via Xinhua