From 1 January 2025, Bulgaria and Romania become full members of the Schengen area. This was a decision taken by the Council of the European Union on 12 December 2024.
Austria’s standpoint
This was enabled by the withdrawal of Austria’s veto, which had already been opposed to the entry of these countries into the Schengen area as from 2023, when Croatia joined the Schengen area. Austria’s doubts with regard to Bulgaria and Romania were particularly concerned with the issue of illegal immigration and the potential lack of ability of these two countries to counter it.
Full Schengen Area
Until now, Bulgaria’s and Romania’s membership of the Schengen area has been in a limited form and only applied to the air and sea borders; as of 1 January 2025, they are also joining by land borders.