On Thursday, the European Commission reaffirmed its position that Romania and Bulgaria are fully prepared for full accession to the Schengen area."Regarding the Commission's position on lifting internal border controls for Bulgaria and Romania, this remains clear, as President Ursula von der Leyen stated in the political guidelines for the next European Commission (2024-2029): Bulgaria and Romania have demonstrated their capacity related to border management and returns. They are prepared and should fully benefit from the Schengen area," a spokesman for the European Commission told Agerpres.He thus answered a question regarding the consequences of the introduction of internal border controls by several Schengen states on the expansion of this area through the full integration of Bulgaria and Romania, including land borders."The Council will have to take an additional decision to set a date for the lifting of internal land border controls between Bulgaria, Romania and other Schengen countries. The Commission will continue to provide all necessary support to the Presidency of the Council to ensure that a decision on land borders can be taken in 2024,'' the quoted spokesperson added.Ten days ago, Germany introduced, for a period of six months, controls at all its land borders to combat illegal immigration.The German authorities had already introduced controls at the borders with several neighboring countries, and from September 16 these measures were extended to the borders with Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.According to the EU asylum rules (the so-called Dublin regulation), asylum applications must be processed in the member state where the migrant first enters the EU bloc.The Schengen area is the free movement area of the European Union that includes most of the 27 EU member states. At the end of March of this year, Romania, together with Bulgaria, joined this area partially - only with air and sea borders due to the lack of unanimity in the EU Council, and a decision on the elimination of land border controls is still awaited.
A new alley named after Romanian diplomat Nicolae Titulescu was inaugurated on Tuesday, December 9, in Paris’s Parc Monceau during a ceremony attended by Romania’s president Nicușor Dan and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. “I expressed my appreciation for the decision to name an alley in the beautiful Parc Monceau in Paris after the great Romanian […]
Oxygen Resort, a development located in central Romania’s Harghita county, has inaugurated its first bungalows. The first 18 bungalows are already functional, with another 17 units to be completed in the next stage, bringing the total to 35. The inauguration of the bungalows “marks the transition from a center dedicated predominantly to recreational activities to […]
Romania carried out a new medical evacuation mission for civilians from Gaza on Monday, December 8, transporting eight Palestinian patients and 29 accompanying relatives to Bucharest for treatment, according to the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU). The patients were evacuated aboard a Romanian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft after lacking access to adequate medical care. […]
City Grill Group closes 2025 with €3 million in investments directed toward restaurant infrastructure upgrades, accelerated digitalization and the evolution of the culinary experience. The group continues its multi-year development program in a market that is redefining its benchmarks for quality, atmosphere and guest experience. One of the most extensive projects completed in 2025 was […]
MerchantPro, the SaaS eCommerce platform used by over 2,000 online stores in Romania, together with NETOPIA Payments, announces the launch of the AI Checkout solution with One Click Payment, opening the door to agentic payments in the local digital commerce space. The integration enables merchants in the MerchantPro ecosystem to activate one-click card payments with […]
The Romanian Customs Authority and the Ministry of Finance have submitted the country's bid to host the future EU Customs Authority (EUCA) in Bucharest. The EUCA is meant to help national customs authorities streamline processes for businesses, ensure the effective collection of duties and taxes for EU and national budgets, and reinforce the single market's […]
