Bulgaria and Romania will fully join the Schengen Area from January 1, 2025, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union said on Thursday.

The Council of the EU decided that checks at the land Schengen borders of Bulgaria and Romania will be lifted from January 1, 2025.

In late March, checks at the air and sea Schengen borders of both countries were removed following a decision made during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU on December 30, 2023.

"A great victory for Bulgaria, Romania, and all of Europe," the Hungarian Presidency said.

It called the decision "a historic moment".

Lifting checks on persons at the internal land borders with and between those member states has been a top priority for the Hungarian presidency, and today we have made it a reality. This step will benefit not only Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, but also the EU as a whole," it said in a press release.

Schengen is the largest free travel area in the world. Border checks between France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were first dropped in 1985. The Schengen area now covers 29 countries (25 of the 27 member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and 420 million people. Controls at the internal borders with Cyprus have not yet been lifted, and Ireland is not part of the Schengen area.