Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of the Schengen Area that allows free movement of 420 million people between 29 mostly European Union countries without border checks from Jan. 1, the EU said Thursday.

The European Union ministers has agreed to let Bulgaria and Romania fully integrate into Europe’s ID-check free travel zone known as the Schengen area by lifting land border controls next year.

Seventeen years after Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union, they have been given the green light to become members of its border-free Schengen travel zone. The decision by fellow EU member states means that from 1 January 2025,