A moment of relief as Romania and Bulgaria join the EU border-free zone

Seventeen years after Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, they have been given the green light to become members of its border-free Schengen travel area.

The decision by fellow EU member states means that from 1 January 2025 it will be possible to drive to France, Spain or Norway without a passport.

This is a moment of great relief for the 25 million people who live in Romania and Bulgaria, and who will finally feel accepted as full members of the European Union. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said it was a “happy day”.,

Although border checks on travel by air and sea were lifted for both countries last March, Austria lifted its resistance to ending land border checks just last month.

But for truck drivers, the border bureaucracy is far from over.

Hungary NADLAC is set to continue inspecting every truck and its documents at the main Romania-Hungary border crossing for at least six months.

bulgaria has built a new truck park and electronic barrier in Russia next to the bridge over the Danube to Romania, charging €25 (£20) per truck.

And “temporary” border controls have been imposed across the continent by countries fearing an increase in illegal migration.

The Schengen Zone first became a reality in 1985 and now includes most EU countries as well as some non-EU countries, including Norway and Switzerland.

The UK has never been in Schengen, although UK visitors can currently visit the area visa-free for up to 90 days every 180 days.

When I crossed from Hungary to Romania just hours before the EU announcement, the Hungarian and Romanian border police were hesitant.

“We will have detailed information tomorrow,” a Hungarian official said with a smile.

And it’s the devil that may lie in the details.

Ovidiu Dabija headed for the border at dawn after steering his SUV alongside a 31-foot-long Stirk powerboat from a yard in Timisoara, the main city of western Romania.

He races powerboats in boat shows one after another from his home in Germany. Last week he was in Athens. Next week he will visit the manufacturer’s base near Nuremberg.

“Romania joining Schengen will save me hours at each border crossing,” he tells me, lying next to the Nedlac crossing.

“Our drivers lose at least 12 hours at each border crossing,” says Radu Dinescu, head of the Romanian Road-Haulers Association. “The worst wait was five days at the Hungary-Romania border.”

They estimate that the Romanian road transport industry lost €19bn between 2012 and 2023 due to delays at borders. This increased prices which consumers had to pay.

“The main beneficiaries from January 1 will be cars and private individuals,” says Dinescu, “although they will still be subject to random controls.”

In the case of trucks, he doesn’t believe there will be a huge immediate difference.

He says the bigger problem for truck drivers is that all trucks are checked at the border, from weighing to permit and load-checking, hygiene and environmental checks as well as searches for illegal immigrants.

In other countries already inside the Schengen area, such checks take place more quickly and efficiently in dedicated motorway vehicle parks away from the border.

Radu Dinescu blamed successive governments in Romania for failing to negotiate new arrangements with the country’s neighbors to ease pressure on the borders.

He cites a 2008 EU regulation that calls for the removal of controls on the weight and dimensions of trucks at border crossings between EU member states.

It has never been implemented on the Romanian border with Hungary or on the Romanian border with Bulgaria due to competition between rival inspectorates.

It’s not just about trade, but also about investment, says the head of the Romanian Road-Haulers Association.

When BMW was trying to choose between Hungary and Romania as the location for a new car factory, the wait at the Romania-Hungary border mysteriously increased.

BMW later chose the city of Debrecen, Hungary.

Dacia Renault, Romania’s biggest carmaker, faces frequent delays in delivery of parts across the Schengen borders. “I don’t want to underestimate the value of our land borders joining Schengen, but there is still some work to be done,” says Dinescu.

In Timisoara, Philip Cox of Cramel Recas, Romania’s largest wine exporter, is more optimistic.

“It will take a while for border controls to go away,” he believes, “but it will happen, probably in six months, because it is in everyone’s interest.”

They believe this will make their wines more competitive in the western and northern markets of Europe.