The European Council has decided to enlarge the border-free Schengen area to include Bulgaria and Romania, the council’s Spanish presidency said Saturday. “An enlarged Schengen area will make the EU stronger as a Union, internally and on the global stage,” the commission said, welcoming both countries. The Schengen area currently offers unrestricted travel within a territory of 26 countries (of which 22 are EU countries), and includes more than 400 million citizens, making it the largest area of free movement in the world, according to the Commission. The decision to add Bulgaria and Romania was unanimously approved by the European Council, the commission also said, noting that it had sent multiple “fact-finding missions” in 2022 and 2023 to the countries’ external borders to confirm their readiness to join Schengen. Our thanks to all EU partners and institutions for the support.

Source: CNN December 30, 2023 23:46 UTC