Caretaker Minister of Interior Atanas Ilkov and his Romanian counterpart Cătălin Predoiu will symbolically raise the last closed border barrier between the two countries at the "Danube Bridge" border crossing at Ruse-Giurgiu in the first minute of the New Year.

 In this way, they will mark the full membership of the two countries in the Schengen area and the abolition of controls at internal land borders. By the end of 2024, all people and vehicles passing through the "Danube Bridge" border crossing will be subject to a check. From 2025, passenger cars travelling to Romania will pay a bridge fee on the Bulgarian side, then they will cross the bridge, and on the Romanian side only a small part of them will be subject to border control using the "risk analysis" method. The same will be true for traffic in the opposite direction.