Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Europe’s Schengen travel zone.

International

Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Europe’s Schengen travel zone, marking a new step in the two countries’ integration with the European Union. The two countries reached an agreement late last year to join the continent’s free-travel area by air and sea after Austria opposed full membership, including land crossings, saying Romania and Bulgaria needed to do more to prevent irregular migration. Created in 1985, the Schengen area allows more than 400 million people in the European Union to travel freely without internal border controls. As partial members, the Schengen zone now comprises 29 members – 25 of the 27 EU member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Only 3 percent of Bulgarian goods are transported by air and sea, the remaining 97 percent by land. The two countries have joined a regional police initiative with Austria, Greece and Slovakia to counter the flow of irregular migration.


     

     

     

 

     


Bulgaria

Capital- Sofia
President- Rumen Radev
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