On January 1, 2026, Bulgaria marks one year since it became a full member of the Schengen area. On December 12, 2024, the Council of the European Union (EU) decided to abolish checks at the land Schengen borders of Bulgaria and Romania. Bulgaria and Romania have been expecting to join Schengen since 2010, when the Council of the EU reported that the legal requirements had been met. In the following years, despite this assessment and the repeated calls of the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament (EP), the necessary unanimity was not achieved in the Council of the EU, BTA recalled.
As of March 31, 2024, both Bulgaria and Romania have been fully implementing the Schengen acquis. Controls at internal air and sea borders with Bulgaria and Romania were also abolished from that date. This was adopted during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU on December 30, 2023.
On January 1, 2025, Bulgaria became a full member of Schengen.
Despite concerns in the public sphere that after entering Schengen and the abolition of border control towards Bulgaria, migration pressure would increase, this did not happen. On December 22, the Director of the “Border Police“ Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov announced that in 2025 there would be a 70% decrease in migration pressure, a huge increase in detected crimes related to smuggling, a record number of dismantled criminal groups related to migrant trafficking, etc. We are sending off the first year after Bulgaria was admitted to the Schengen area and by land. With this, we ensured economic prosperity for our country and while other people are resting, you are outside and guarding the borders, said the Chief. Commissioner Zlatanov to the Directorate's staff.
In October 2025, the Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a National Mechanism for Coordination and Control of the Implementation of the Schengen Acquis in Bulgaria.
The new mechanism will carry out constant monitoring of the effective and correct implementation of the Schengen legislation in our country. It will be attended by leading representatives at the political level from all institutions involved in the implementation of the Schengen rules. Among the main tasks of the mechanism are resolving coordination issues, taking follow-up measures on findings and recommendations from the Schengen evaluations, as well as strengthening the country's administrative capacity for full participation in Schengen cooperation. The mechanism will be led by a National Schengen Coordinator - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs responsible for EU affairs. His work will be supported by six thematic groups, led by relevant structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other departments. The creation of the mechanism aims to ensure consistency and continuity in the implementation of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria.
Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov stated days later that Bulgaria is about to undergo its first periodic evaluation of Schengen, now as a full member. We expect positive results that will demonstrate the excellent preparedness of officials for the implementation of Schengen legislation, Mitov said at the time.
According to him, Schengen contributes to economic development, the transport sector and tourism, to facilitating the movement of goods and to promoting Bulgaria as a tourist destination. The positive developments will have a long-term effect and will increase over time, he commented.