From March 2024: Bulgaria and Romania will become Air Schengen members

From March 2024, border controls with Bulgaria and Romania will no longer apply on air and sea routes within the Schengen states. Austria had previously put up considerable resistance and blocked accession to Schengen.

Now a compromise has been found. This stipulates that Air Schengen will come into force first. This means that border controls by air and sea will no longer apply from March 2024. However, controls will continue to be carried out overland. Currently, EU members Bulgaria and Romania are not members of the Schengen Agreement.