Starting January 1, Romania will close 30 border crossing points. What are the reasons behind this decision?

Starting January 1, 2025, Romania will close 30 border crossing points with other EU countries. This decision is due to its full membership in the Schengen Area.

This information was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Digi24.

According to the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of January 1, 2025, the country will shut down 30 land border crossing points with Hungary and Bulgaria as it becomes a full member of the Schengen Area.

However, selective document checks may still occur at the borders.

On December 12, the EU Council decided to lift controls at the land borders with Bulgaria and Romania starting January 1, 2025. The full accession of these countries to the Schengen Area was made possible after Austria gave the green light.

Schengen Area

As a reminder, we previously reported that Romania and Bulgaria will become members of the Schengen Area starting January 1, 2025.

Since joining the EU, Romania has been applying parts of the Schengen legal framework, including those related to external border control, police cooperation, and the use of the Schengen Information System.

On December 30, 2023, the Council decided to implement the remaining parts of Schengen legislation and to abolish checks on individuals at internal air and sea borders starting March 31, 2024.

Schengen is the largest area of free movement in the world. Border checks between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were first abolished in 1985.

Currently, the Schengen Area includes 29 countries.