A moment of relief as Romania and Bulgaria join the European Union free zone

Seventeen years after Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, they both received the green light to join the border-free Schengen travel area.

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

It is a moment of great relief for some 25 million people living in Romania and Bulgaria, 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 “day of joy.”.

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

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

Hungary It appears that they are scheduled to continue inspecting each truck and its documents for at least six months at the main border crossing between Romania and Hungary at Nadlac.

Bulgaria It has built a new truck stop and electronic barrier in Ruse, next to the bridge crossing the Danube into Romania, for €25 (£20) per truck.

“Temporary” border controls have been imposed across the continent by countries fearing high rates of illegal immigration.

The Schengen Area 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 not previously been a member of the Schengen Area, although visitors from the UK can currently visit the area without a visa for up to 90 days every 180 days.

Hungarian and Romanian border police were hesitant when they crossed from Hungary into Romania hours before the EU announcement.

“We will find out the details tomorrow,” a Hungarian official said with a smile.

The devil may be in the details.

Ovidiu Dabija headed to the border at dawn after maneuvering his four-wheel drive vehicle into a 31-foot Sterk speedboat from a yard in Timisoara, the main city in western Romania.

The speedboat drives from its home in Germany to one boat show after another. Last week he was in Athens. Next week it will head to the manufacturer's base near Nuremberg.

“Romania joining the Schengen Area will save me hours at every border crossing,” he told me while standing next to the Nadlac crossing.

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

It is estimated that the Romanian road transport industry lost €19 billion between 2012 and 2023 due to delays at the border. This led to higher prices that consumers ended up paying.

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

As for trucks, he doesn't think there will be much immediate difference.

He says the big problem truck drivers face is that all truck inspections are done at the border, from weighing to permits, load checks, health and environmental checks, as well as searching for illegal immigrants.

In other countries already within the Schengen Area, such inspections take place more quickly and efficiently in designated car parks on motorways away from borders.

Radu Deniscu blames successive governments in Romania for failing to negotiate new arrangements with the country's neighbours, to ease pressure on the border.

He cites a 2008 European Union regulation that calls for controlling the weight and dimensions of trucks to be removed from border crossings between EU member states.

This was never implemented on the Romanian border with Hungary or on the Romanian border with Bulgaria, due to competition between rival inspection bodies.

It's not just about trade, but also about investment, says the head of the Romanian Road Drivers Association.

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

BMW then chose the Hungarian city of Debrecen.

Dacia Renault, Romania's largest carmaker, is facing persistent delays in the delivery of spare parts across the Schengen border. “I don't want to underestimate the value of our land borders joining Schengen, but there is still some work to be done,” Denisko says.

In Timisoara, Philippe Cox, of Carameli Ricas, Romania's largest wine exporter, is more optimistic.

He believes that “border controls will take some time to fade away, but it will happen, perhaps within six months, because it is in everyone's interest.”

He believes this will make his wines more competitive in Western and Northern European markets.