Border controls between Bulgaria and Romania on the river Danube will continue after both countries’ Schengen partial accession by air and sea on March 31.
Such an announcement has been confirmed by a European Commission source to the BNR, stressing that river borders are considered as land borders, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
According to a report from BNR, as of 6 AM on March 21, the truck is intensive at the exit on the border with Romania at the following border checkpoints: Vidin and Durankulak, Kardam and Oryahovo, as confirmed by the Border Police.
The same source revealed that on the border with Turkey, traffic is intensive at the exit at border checkpoints Kapitan Andreevo and Lesovo. At the same time, on the border with Greece, traffic is intensive at the Kulata border checkpoint and at the exit for trucks, confirming that the traffic is normal on the borders with Serbia and North Macedonia.
Bulgaria and Romania will become part of the Schengen Zone via air and sea on March 31. However, land border checks will remain effective, as Finnish authorities in Romania warned recent travellers regarding the new changes that will become effective starting from April 1.
Schengen membership means those legally staying in member countries can move freely without passport checks. However, the membership of Romania and Bulgaria is exceptional – the removal of passport checks only applies to air and sea transport.
The same emphasized that rivers and lakes between countries are considered land borders; therefore, passport controls for land borders will continue.
The lack of a concrete date for land border accession for Romania and Bulgaria continues to bring significant challenges.
Recently, MEPs of the Petitions Committee urged the EU to decide a date for both countries’ membership to the Schengen Zone no longer than mid-2024 in order to address long queues for heavy goods vehicles at the EU borders.
MEPs considered long queues of goof vehicles particularly problematic on the EU’s external borders with Western Balkans.
Recently, Austrian economist and politician Gunther Fehlinger told SchengenVisaInfo that the membership of Bulgaria and Romania should be finalized on May 1.
Bulgaria and Romania are ready for Schengen and must be accepted fully, including land borders, on May 1, 2024, the Day we celebrate EU Enlargement, 20 years of 10 new countries joining the EU 2004 and before the EU elections.
He stressed that further conditions for the accession of these two countries to the Schengen Zone are unacceptable and must be rejected.
