Bulgaria and Romania partially join Europe’s Schengen area
Al JazeeraMar 31
Bulgaria, Romania Partially Join Europe's Schengen Area
Image copyright: Kevin Dietsch/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Bulgaria and Romania have partially joined Europe's Schengen Area of free movement, further deepening their integration within the EU after years of negotiation.
A Sofia-Bucharest flight — in which passengers were spared from border control procedures in both countries for the first time — took off at 12.40 p.m. local time on Sunday to symbolically mark the two nations' accession.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Europe has finally started to address one of its most important integration issues, as European citizens from Bulgaria and Romania used to feel like second-class members due to their exclusion from the Schengen Area. Hopefully, it won't be long until the EU effectively becomes an inclusive, unified community.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's hard to understand why the long-established opposition to expanding the Schengen Area has rapidly waned to allow the recent accession of Bulgaria, Romania, and Kosovo. Little explanation has been given, and the consequences of their accession have yet to be determined.