Good news for anyone planning a flight to Bulgaria or Romania: From March 31 onwards, there will be no more passport checks for people flying in from other Schengen area states. What does this mean for travellers? First and foremost, it will save time at the airports - for example for anyone on holiday at the Black Sea coast and flying to Burgas or Varna, as there is one less queue to join before take-off and after landing. Does this mean I don't need a passport? No. There is still a requirement to carry a valid passport or identity card when leaving and re-entering countries within the Schengen area. Even in the Schengen area, countries can carry out spot checks under certain conditions - which is another reason why it is always advisable to have identification with you. What if I'm not flying and crossing a land border into Bulgaria or Romania instead? The end of passport checks only impacts internal air and sea borders. Anyone travelling by car or coach from another Schengen state, for example from Hungary to Romania or Bulgaria to Greece, will still have to show their passport. During busy holiday periods, you can even expect to have to wait several hours at the border before being checked. The Schengen area is intended to guarantee the unrestricted movement of people in Europe. Border checks between the 27 Schengen members are largely suspended allowing people to travel, work and live in another member country without visas or permits. So far, 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are part of the Schengen area. Romania and Bulgaria had been waiting to join Schengen since 2011. Apart from Bulgaria and Romania, Ireland and Cyprus are the only EU countries that are not part of the Schengen area. (Source:https://www.dpa.com/en/international-news)
Gura Portiței Resort, the summer destination located between the Danube Delta and the Black Sea, has officially reopened following a major renovation and an investment of over EUR 10 million. The location, now featuring 145 rooms, a brand-new lakeside restaurant, and a beachfront conference hall, aims to position itself as a top destination for both […]
Slow Food Buzău celebrates two years of activity with tangible economic results: over 20 organized events, 10,000 tourists attracted, and dozens of local businesses supported through promotion and direct sales. Amid a difficult economic context for Romania’s artisanal producers, the project has shown that initiatives based on local gastronomy and sustainable tourism can generate added […]
A Colombian national arrested last year for planning acts of sabotage in Romania at the request of a Russian citizen has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, Biziday.ro reported. The verdict is not final and may be appealed within ten days. Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa was convicted of […]
The Romanian Presidential Administration announced that the “Open Doors at Cotroceni Palace” initiative will become a permanent program, with a new visitor format set to launch starting June 14. Details about the updated format will be made public in the coming days. Since March, the Presidential Administration has been hosting regular open days at the […]
A majority of Romanians support reducing public expenditures as a way to curb the national budget deficit, according to a new poll conducted by INSCOP Research and published by Informat.ro on June 4. The survey found that 58.4% of respondents would totally agree with reducing state operating expenses unrelated to public sector salaries, while a further 18.8% […]
The Cluj-Napoca Court of Appeal decided on June 4 to suspend the environmental agreement for the Hidroelectrica's (BVB: H2O) Răstolița hydropower plant project, which is already over 90% completed and scheduled to be put into operation in November this year, the minister of energy, Sebastian Burduja announced. The decision is not final. "It is not […]
