Bulgarians, Romanians will no longer need to show ID at internal EU air and sea borders

Bulgarians and Romanians will no longer be subject to checks when officially entering the Schengen Area at the EU’s internal air and sea borders from 31 March, although checks will still be carried out when crossing land borders.

The EU Council voted unanimously on 30 December to accept Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen air and sea border area.

According to the EU decision, checks on persons at internal air and sea borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania will be abolished as of 31 March, and the provisions of the Schengen acquis will apply to Bulgaria and Romania among themselves and in their relations with the other member states of the free movement area.

Speaking to journalists from Romania and Bulgaria on Wednesday, Commission representatives said they were in constant contact with the Romanian and Bulgarian authorities, who they said were fully prepared to implement the new rules from 31 March.

As a result, the waiting time in the queue, implicitly for the processing of passenger flows, will be shorter, the Commission officials said.

Regarding the lifting of land border controls, Commission officials reiterated the EU executive’s constant support, stating that the political decision was still awaited without being able to give a deadline.

According to officials of the Bucharest National Airports Company, two-thirds of all international traffic are passengers travelling to or from destinations in the Schengen area.

(Mădălina-Elena Prundea, Euractiv.ro)

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