Switzerland lifts controls at air borders with Bulgaria, Romania

GENEVA

Passengers from Romania and Bulgaria will no longer be checked at Swiss airports, the Swiss government announced Wednesday.

Switzerland is adopting a decision by the EU Council at the end of December. According to the decision, all checks at the air and sea borders with Bulgaria and Romania will be lifted.

But checks will continue at land borders.

"Experience with Croatia's accession to the Schengen area on January 1, 2023 shows that a significant increase in migration is not to be expected as a result of the decision," the government wrote in a statement.

"The formal requirements for the full application of the Schengen acquis by Bulgaria and Romania have been met," it added.

The visa-free zone of the Schengen area currently includes 27 European countries with 400 million citizens. They include 23 EU countries and four partner states: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.