site.btaCustoms Agency Is Ready for Schengen by Land, Director Says

The Customs Agency is fully ready for Schengen by land, Customs Agency Director Georgi Dimov said in Brussels Thursday. He attended the regular meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council alongside caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov.

The members of the Justice and Home Affairs Council unanimously set January 1, 2025 as the date for lifting border control at the internal land borders with and between Bulgaria and Romania.

Dimov clarified that controls will not be downscaled and the Customs Agency will continue to strictly implement its commitments at the EU's external borders and in the interior of Bulgaria to ensure the security of citizens, economic operators and the Bulgarian and EU finances. 

He has also specified that the European Union has no other crossing point like Bulgaria, with Europe's largest and the world's second largest land border checkpoint at Kapitan Andreevo, with five cross-border corridors and over 4.5 million freight vehicles crossing per year.

"Bulgaria will continue to play a key role in the shipments to Europe and will effectively counter customs, excise and currency violations and crimes," Dimov added.

On January 1 2025 at 00:01 no checks will be carried out at the border with Greece, while at the northern border with Romania, the regulation allows for partial border controls to be reintroduced when necessary and based on a risk analysis, which means that only some - not all - vehicles will be checked.