Passport checks for people flying to and from Bulgaria and Romania will be abolished at Swiss airports, https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics reads. The Swiss government on Wednesday agreed to follow a recent European Union decision to lift internal border controls at air and maritime borders with Bulgaria and Romania. On December 30, the Council of the EU unanimously decided to lift checks on people at the internal air and sea borders with Bulgaria and Romania, as from March 31, 2024. Controls will remain in place at land borders but the council has hinted that a future decision will be taken on the matter. Switzerland, a member of Europe’s passport-free Schengen Zone, is following this decision. Romania and Bulgaria will also be able to issue their own Schengen visas themselves, the government said in a statement on Wednesday. The experience of Croatia's accession to the Schengen area on January 1, 2023 has shown that a decision of this kind does not lead to a marked increase in immigration, non-EU member Switzerland said. Existing instruments, including preventive measures, are used to combat illegal migratory flows and crime. The EU's decision follows 12 years of negotiations. Austria imposed its veto last year to protest against too many irregular migrants arriving on its territory, before agreeing to lift it in exchange for guarantees. Sofia and Bucharest have agreed to step up their fight against irregular migration. Bulgaria and Romania, members of the EU since 2007, have also undertaken to fully apply European law, which stipulates that asylum applications must be processed in the migrants' country of arrival. The Schengen area, created in 1985, allows over 400 million people to travel freely in Europe without internal border controls. It includes 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as their associated neighbours Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Square 7, part of retail park investor M Core, officially inaugurated its new Bucharest office last week, marking an important milestone for the company. More than 150 guests joined the event, including partners, collaborators, and team members. M Core is a family of property investment and management companies comprising LCP, Sheet Anchor, Proudreed, and Sheet […]
Real estate developer Hagag Europe Development has expanded its Romanian operations into the energy sector with the acquisition of BTD Distribuție și Furnizare, a local company specializing in natural gas infrastructure, distribution, and supply. The company has opened a new local division - Hagag Energy - and announced plans to invest more than EUR 400 […]
Romanian airline AnimaWings is considering incorporating Buy Now, Pay Later options in its travel offers, similar to the ones already popular in the retail sector, Profit.ro reported. The new ticket financing strategy would be a first in the local aviation market. “It is not yet practiced...
Renowned Romanian author Mircea Cărtărescu will tour the United Kingdom from November 18 to 20 to mark the publication of the English edition of his novel Blinding: The Left Wing, released by Penguin Books. The volume, translated by Sean Cotter, is the first part of Cărtărescu’s acclaimed Blinding trilogy. The tour, organized by Penguin Books […]
Ahold Delhaize, the owner of the local supermarket chains Mega Image and Profi, has appointed Xavier Piesvaux as country manager for Romania beginning January 1, 2025. Piesvaux, who was brand president of Mega Image from 2006 to 2015, will return to the country, where he will oversee the expansion of the company’s local brands Mega […]
Timișoara, Bucharest, and Cluj-Napoca occupy the top three positions in the “Perfect City 2026” ranking conducted by the Bucureștiul Meu website. The study, which analyzed the quality of life in 17 Romanian municipalities, took into account seven criteria: infrastructure, the medical system, air quality, access to nature, cultural activities, relative salary, and the financial index. […]
