Bulgaria and Romania will partially join the Schengen zone from the end of March, the Council of the European Union announced today.

The 27 EU member states unanimously agreed to lift air and sea border controls between the two countries from March 31, 2024, according to a press release. The specific date was chosen because it corresponds to the transition from the winter routes to those planned for the summer by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), it is clarified.

The “27” will have to take a new decision in order to choose the date for the lifting of controls on the land borders of Romania and Bulgaria, the press release of the Council of the EU, a body representing the member states of the European Union, points out.

The European Commission welcomed the decision, which came after at least 12 years of negotiations. “It marks a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania and a day of great pride for Bulgarians and Romanian citizens,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission recalls that since 2011 it considered that these two countries were ready to join the Schengen zone.

Austria had vetoed it last year, protesting the increased number of irregular migrants arriving on its soil, before finally agreeing to lift it in exchange for guarantees.

Sofia and Bucharest agreed to fight illegal immigration more decisively in a joint statement signed Saturday with the Austrian government. At the same time, Bulgaria and Romania pledged to fully implement European legislation, which stipulates that asylum requests are processed in the country of arrival of migrants.

Romania and Bulgaria, members of the European Union since 2007, had not been admitted at the end of 2022 to this huge zone, within which 400 million people can travel freely without internal border controls.

The Schengen area for the free movement of people and goods was created in 1985 and includes 23 of the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.