site.btaUPDATED Bulgarian Customs Agency Prepares for Full Schengen Membership

On January 1 of 2025, Bulgaria will join the Schengen area of free movement by land, less than a year after abolishing border control by air and sea.

The advantages of Bulgaria’s membership of the common area of passport- and visa-free movement have long been known from extensive discussions on the subject. These include easier travel, reduced time spent at borders, reduced logistical costs for companies, and fewer carbon emissions. Membership is also expected to make this country more attractive to potential investors.

"From 00:01 on January 1, 2025, no checks will be carried out at the former border crossings with Greece. At the same time, at the northern border with Romania, the regulation allows for a partial border control to be requested due to a necessity, but it will be based on the method of risk analysis," said Customs Agency Georgi Dimov after the decision of the EU Council.

"Controls will not be underestimated and the Customs Agency will continue to strictly implement its commitments at the external borders of the EU and in the interior of the country to ensure the security of citizens, economic operators of Bulgaria and the EU," he said. In his words, there is no other crossing point in the EU like Bulgaria, which manages the largest in Europe and the second in the world land border crossing checkpoint - Kapitan Andreevo, as well as five cross-border corridors and over 4.5 million freight vehicles crossing per year.

To support legitimate business, the Customs Agency is actively working to create a favourable environment for investment, including through the implementation of modern systems and technologies, the Agency press centre told BTA.

By deploying cloud technologies, Customs is reducing processing times and providing access to real-time information. These technologies minimize red tape and reduce the administrative burden for economic operators, facilitating international trade.

For safety and integrated border management purposes, the customs administration is implementing a project to build a Bulgarian Integrated X-ray Information System (BIXIS). The project, which is already underway, is expected to yield its first results in the second half of 2025 and will continue to develop in the coming years. Comprehensive X-ray control will ensure rapid and detailed verification of vehicle contents, which is essential to prevent customs and excise violations.

Artificial intelligence algorithms play a key role in data analytics and automated risk analysis, greatly improving the identification of high-risk events.

The introduction of machine learning into the information systems of the Bulgarian customs administration makes it possible to analyse a huge volume of historical data on cargo that has passed through, and the information is used to predict potential breaches. This reduces checks on low-risk goods and facilitates legitimate trade.

The Customs Agency is also building a Traffic Management System (TMS), which will digitize customs control processes. The project will provide full management of the passage of goods vehicles through border checkpoints through the integration of data from cameras, smart devices, information boards, barriers, and traffic lights. The main objective is to optimize traffic by directing vehicles to the least congested routes and implementing paperless interaction between checkpoint control services.

A Queue Management System (QMS) is to be piloted at Kapitan Andreevo. It is being developed for freight vehicles leaving Bulgaria. 

The QMS will enable the reservation of a time slot for crossing the checkpoint, thus eliminating long queues of waiting trucks and spreading the peak traffic. The aim is again to increase the efficiency of customs control.

Both traffic and queue management systems are expected to be piloted by the end of 2025.