site.btaEconomists Estimate BGN 1.63 Bln Financial Effect per Year for Bulgaria if Country Joins Schengen Area by Land

Five specific benefits with a total financial effect of BGN 1.63 billion per year will be available to Bulgaria if it joins the Schengen area by land, according to an assessment of scientists from the Institute for Economic Research (IER) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). The study, carried out in early 2024 at the initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Industry, shows the economic impact of the forthcoming decision of Bulgarian citizens to travel freely between member states without being subject to border controls, the Institute said. 

The biggest benefit would be for heavy road transport as well as for producers and exporters of goods, whose direct costs are estimated at BGN 845 million. The foregone benefits of heavy goods transport amount to BGN 545 million. Thus, the direct and potential benefits for exporters, importers and transport companies of the abolition of border controls at land borders amount to BGN 1.39 billion per year, the report states. 

Another benefit of joining Schengen by land would be the elimination of direct and potential losses for Bulgarian citizens when crossing the land border with Romania and Greece amounting to 242,437 days.

Citizens of Romania and Greece visiting Bulgaria will also benefit from the accession to Schengen by land, with a total saving of 217,998 days. The Bulgarian tourism business could also benefit from this with around BGN 71 million, the economists highlight.

The fourth benefit would be related to the overall environmental effect of the extended time for border control on land. The volume of harmful CO2 emissions generated as a result of the stay at the borders of Bulgaria and Romania amounts to 46,162 tonnes per year. Opening up the Schengen area by land would also significantly reduce carbon emissions, the report reads.

Economists estimate that Bulgaria's accession to Schengen by land will also have direct benefits for the budget - around BGN 138 million. 

The results of the study were used by the Bulgarian Industrial Association, as well as in the drafting of the Opinion INT/1064 of the European Economic and Social Committee "The cost of non-Schengen for the Single market – impact on Bulgaria and Romania", the Institute also said.

In its opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee calls on the Council of Europe to set a date for the abolition of land border controls between Bulgaria and Romania and the other Schengen member states as early as 2024, which will be voted on at a meeting on December 12, 2024, the Institude said.

Earlier this month caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev participated in a meeting in Budapest of the interior ministers of Bulgaria, Romania, Austria and Hungary. At the meeting of the interior ministers, the progress of Bulgaria and Romania in the fight against illegal migration was noted, but it should be stressed that the efforts are not only of Bulgaria and Romania, but of the entire European Union, Glavchev said. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the positive outcome of informal discussions in Budapest. “Bulgaria and Romania belong fully to the Schengen area. Removing internal controls at land borders is the last hurdle. The EU Council formal decision is next. Let 2025 see Schengen become stronger,” Ursula von der Leyen said in a post on X.