site.btaBulgaria, Romania Will Be Able to Fully Benefit from Schengen in Early 2025 - EU Home Affairs Commissioner Johansson

Bulgaria and Romania will be able to reap all the benefits the Schengen area has to offer in early 2025, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said here on Tuesday. She was speaking at the beginning of a debate on Schengen in the European Parliament.

Addressing the MEPs, she recalled that five years ago the expansion of the Schengen area was not even on the agenda.

Bulgaria and Romania have been held in the waiting room, Johansson noted. "We said that they were ready 13 years ago, but the Council had not yet taken a decision," she said, adding that change may sometimes come quickly but not automatically. "We have all worked hard to achieve this change", she added, noting that key changes have taken place in the last two years.

Croatia joined the Schengen area in 2023, and as of March 2024, border checks between Bulgaria and Romania, and other Schengen members have been lifted for maritime and air traffic, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs recalled.

Johansson noted that Frontex will deploy an extra 280 officers in Bulgaria and 220 in Romania.

"You belong in Schengen, and you deserve to reap all the benefits," Johansson said.