Shengen

The Schengen area allows more than 400 million people to travel freely between member countries without going through border controls.
Every day around 3.5 million people cross internal borders for work or study or to visit families and friends, and almost 1.7 million people reside in one Schengen country while working in another.
Europeans make an estimated 1.25 billion journeys within the Schengen area every year, which also greatly benefits the tourism and cultural sector.
 
Which countries are part of Schengen?
Today, the Schengen area covers over 4 million square kilometres with a population of almost 420 million people, and includes 29 countries.
On 30 December 2023, the Council agreed to lift the air and sea internal border controls with Bulgaria and Romania. On 12 December 2024, the Council decided to remove checks on persons also at the internal land borders with and between the two countries. As a result, from 1 January 2025 Bulgaria and Romania are fully part of the Schengen area.