By the end of this year, Bulgaria hopes to have a decision regarding full membership in the Schengen Area.

Authorities in Sofia voiced optimism that the land border admission of both Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Zone will be concluded shortly.

On 10 October, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, together with Hungary’s interior minister, are to propose to the Council of the European Union that checks at land borders be abolished.
--Yordanka Chobanova, Head of the European Commission’s Representation in Bulgaria

According to Chobanova, who spoke with Euractiv, Bulgarians anticipate that the European Commission will firmly back Schengen.

According to data released by interim Economy Minister Petko Nikolov in July, Bulgaria suffered financial losses totalling €400 million as a result of being outside of Schengen's land borders. These estimates came from the Institute of Economic Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

On March 31, 2024, Bulgaria and Romania were admitted to the Schengen Area, removing restrictions on air and sea travel. Nonetheless, land border controls are still in place due to both nations' limited Schengen participation.

Hungary hopes Bulgaria and Romania's land border accession is decided by end of 2024

In July of this year, Bulgaria and Romania's land borders should be included in the borderless Schengen area by the end of 2024, according to Bence Retvari, Hungary's deputy minister of interior.

Retvari stated that in order to arrive at a conclusion, needless postponements in the process's completion should be avoided.

Migrants arriving at the EU’s southern borders do not seek to obey the law, often attacking border guards. They do not respect the EU; they do not cooperate with the authorities.
-Hungary’s Deputy Minister of the Interior, Bence Retvari

As of right now, Hungary is in charge of the rotating Presidency of the European Union Council, which it will retain through the end of this year, having started on July 1, 2024.

Hungary's first priority, according to Balint Odour, the country's ambassador to the EU, was to abolish land borders for both Romania and Bulgaria in June. Odour further stated that one of Hungary's top aims will be to lessen the amount of undocumented migrants who try to enter these two nations illegally.