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.

Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of Europe'sSchengen free-travel area from next month, swelling the number of nations to 29, the EU said on Thursday. Checks at land borders with Bulgaria and Romania will stop from Jan.

The Netherlands has officially given the green light to the full admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area following a vote in the Dutch Parliament to endorse the government's recent decision in this regard,