As of January 1, the Schengen Area has opened its doors to Romania and Bulgaria. While air and sea border controls were lifted back in March, checks will now also be eliminated at land borders.
The day after the Schengen opening, the situation at the Hungarian-Romanian border is markedly different from what it was before Christmas.
Since it is a public holiday in Romania on this day, there were relatively few cars coming from Hungary, while traffic in the opposite direction was much more intense, with drivers needing to only reduce their speed rather than stop.
"Previously, to enter Schengen, people working abroad had to wait an average of 3-4-5 hours... Can you imagine? Now people can spend that time with their families (instead of waiting at the border)," says one driver.
There are also those for whom crossing the Schengen border did not evoke negative emotions in the past. A resident of the city of Oradea worked abroad in Spain for 15 years, which means he has extensive travel experience across Europe.
"Traveling around Europe, I often went to Spain, crossing countries without even realizing I had moved from one to another, and now I hope to do the same here," he says.
According to him, the waiting time in line at the border did not exceed 20-25 minutes.
Rita Konya, Euronews:
— Despite the fact that the barriers at the checkpoints, including in Nadkerék, have been open since Wednesday, the practical benefits of the Schengen Area expansion will only be felt when passengers can reach their workplaces on the other side of the border without stops and delays, and when the transportation of goods becomes significantly faster.