Six months on, Bulgaria and Romania struggle to turn Schengen accession into advantage

Six months into their full accession to the Schengen area, Bulgaria and Romania are already seeing clear shifts in movement, trade, and regional tourism, though the expected benefits are materialising unevenly across sectors and borders.

For Bulgaria, entry into Schengen is widely seen as a strategic gain. According to European Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Brunner, who visited the Kulata-Promachonas border crossing on 30 June, the increase in cross-border flows marks one of the country’s most significant achievements in recent decades.

Flanked by Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov and Greek Deputy Minister for Migration Sevi Voloudaki, Brunner noted that the free movement of people now applies not just within the EU, but also defines the Union’s external responsibility.

“These are not only the external borders of Greece and Bulgaria – they are the external borders of the European Union,” he said, adding that cooperation must improve in view of migration and the implementation of the EU Pact.

Following the opening of the borders, the number of people apprehended for drug trafficking and illegal migration has increased, Bulgarian Interior Minister Daniel Mitov told reporters. He stressed that targeted controls will continue both at the Bulgarian-Greek border and within the country.

Mitov underlined that infrastructure improvements are now essential to ensure that Bulgarian and EU citizens can travel faster and reach their destinations without disruption. He also highlighted the challenge of how checks will continue in the future, noting that this refers to so-called compensatory measures based on complex risk analysis.

“These are established European practices,” the minister added.

Accrding to the Greek authorities, since January, over one million vehicles have crossed the Promachonas/Kulata checkpoint, the main land border crossing point with Bulgaria being the second busiest in Greece after Athens International Airport. In 2024 alone, 8.6 million people and 2.5 million vehicles passed through Promachonas, with traffic reportedly 30% higher than the same period in 2023 – a change attributed to the lifting of passport checks at the border.

Tourism: Bulgaria benefits, but misses the moment

Despite the unlocked border, Bulgaria’s tourism sector has yet to fully capitalise on the strategic opportunity, according to industry figures.

Odysey Spasov, chair of the Bulgarian Association of Travel Agencies (BATA), told Money.bg that while the long-term benefits are indisputable, the state has so far failed to actively promote Bulgaria as a Schengen-accessible destination.

“Tourism needs both good promotion and good service,” he noted, adding that if Bulgaria coordinated campaigns like Greece or Turkey, the results would follow naturally – especially with the eurozone accession also on the horizon.

Spasov said most foreign tourists in Bulgaria this summer will come from Romania, Poland, Germany, and the UK, but a noticeable share of Romanians were just crossing Bulgaria as they were now redirecting their holidays to Greece. He noted that Israelis were staying away due to the conflict in the Middle East, and Russian tourists have been absent since the war in Ukraine began.

“If we managed to redirect just a portion of the tourist flow heading to Greece and Turkey, our Black Sea coast wouldn’t even need additional foreign visitors,” he concluded.

Romania: Schengen fuels cross-border tourism, but drains domestic revenues

Romania, long one of Schengen’s most vocal advocates, now faces a paradox. While tourism flows abroad have grown, some analysts are concerned about the domestic economic impact. Economist Radu Georgescu told Adevarul.ro that resorts in Hungary and Bulgaria are full of Romanian tourists, noting that “free movement only benefits exporters, and Romania is a heavy importer.”

According to Romania’s National Bank, Romanians spent €4 billion more abroad than foreigners spent in Romania, exacerbating an already sharp trade deficit. In 2023, the country registered a $31.3 billion trade imbalance – the largest in the EU relative to GDP – which increased by 33% in 2024. Georgescu warned that Schengen membership may deepen this structural weakness, though others point out that Romanians have long travelled abroad regardless of controls.

Indeed, 900,000 Romanian tourists visited Bulgaria in the first half of 2024, with some hotels on the northern Black Sea coast reporting that up to 80% of guests are Romanian. Although it is still too early to determine if Schengen has increased overall traffic, one change is clear: Bulgarian hoteliers no longer complain about Romanian queues at the borders.

A shared zone of mobility – and future potential

The changes are not limited to tourism. Economist Roumen Galabinov told Eualive that 2025 will bring record volumes of goods and people in transit through Bulgaria, with projected budget revenues rising by €500-750 million due to Schengen effects. “Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania now function as a single economic and tourism zone,” he said.

Galabinov expects tourist flows from Romania and Moldova to increase by at least 30%, particularly group bus tours, while transit volume could double over the next three years. He also anticipates price drops in logistics, freight and shipping services due to smoother border processes.

EUalive has requested official data from Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior regarding changes in land traffic at border checkpoints with Greece and Romania since the country’s full accession to the Schengen Area. The request seeks figures on both entries and exits, along with comparative data for the same period in the previous year. Additionally, EUalive is asking for statistics on passenger flow through Bulgaria’s air borders. As of the time of publication, the requested data had not yet been provided.

With Money.bg, edited by k.n.

Caption: Visit of Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, to Bulgaria. Arrival at the Kulata–Promachonas border crossing with Daniel Mitov, Minister of the Interior of Bulgaria, on the right, and Magnus Brunner, in the center./EC – Audiovisual Service