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Austria is dropping its veto on Romania and Bulgaria becoming full members of Europe’s Schengen free-travel area
Romania and Bulgaria, both EU and NATO members, partly joined Schengen in March
What is Schengen travel zone
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed in 1985 by five member states (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) of the European Economic Community.
The agreement aims to create a border-free area in Europe that allows the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital called the Schengen Area, where internal border checks are largely abolished.
All EU member states without opt-outs must join Schengen upon meeting technical requirements.
Non-EU countries like Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland are part of Schengen through special association agreements.
Over time, the Schengen area has grown to encompass 27 countries, spanning over 4 million square kilometres and hosting nearly 420 million inhabitants.
Benefits of Schengen:
Schengen enables seamless travel for over 400 million individuals across member states without border checks.
Facilitates approximately 1.25 billion journeys annually, fostering tourism, cultural exchange, and economic prosperity.
Schengen promotes cooperation among police, customs, and border control authorities to combat terrorism and organized crime.
For nationals of Schengen countries, visa-free travel and the absence of internal border checks enhance convenience and facilitate economic integration.
Schengen's border-free regime symbolises European values of unity and solidarity.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe.
It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea to the southeast.
Europe's second-longest river, the Danube, empties into the Danube Delta in the southeast of the country.
The Carpathian Mountains cross Romania from the north to the southwest
Romania's capital and largest city is Bucharest.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is a country in Southeast Europe.
It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea.
Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north.
Sofia is the nation's capital and largest city
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