Romania and Bulgaria are set to fully join the European Union border-free Schengen Area on January 1, 2025. Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament in a post on social media congratulated the people of both countries. She added a stronger Schengen signifies a safer & more united Europe.

Notably, the border-free Schengen Area guarantees free movement to more than 425 million European Union citizens, along with non-EU nationals living in the EU or visiting the EU. The Schengen provisions abolish checks at the EU’s internal borders while providing a single set of rules for controls at the external borders applicable to those who enter the Schengen area for up to 90 days.