Romania and Bulgaria are to join Europe’s Schengen border-free zone by air and sea by March, officials from the two countries have announced.
Talks will continue next year on opening land borders, BBC reported.
Austria had objected to expanding the zone, fearing more illegal immigration, but later agreed the two Balkan states could enter the zone in stages.
There are currently 27 countries in the Schengen area, which allows 400 million people to move freely between them.
Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 and have been trying to enter the zone for more than 10 years.
Their full entry to the zone would leave Ireland and Cyprus as the only EU countries outside it.
Romania’s Interior Ministry said that agreement on joining the Schengen border-free zone was reached on 23 December.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Facebook: “After 13 years, finally Romania will join Schengen! We have a political agreement on this!”
Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov also confirmed the deal at a year-end government meeting.
Austrian officials have only said that negotiations are continuing.
Vienna vetoed the expansion of the free-movement zone in 2022 but earlier this month relaxed its position, putting forward the idea of Air Schengen as a precursor to the opening of land borders.
It said it was prepared to allow a relaxation in the rules for air travel for the two countries if Brussels took steps to strengthen the EU’s external borders.
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