BUDAPEST, Hungary — Ceremonies were held just before midnight Tuesday to mark Bulgaria’s and Romania’s full membership in Europe’s Schengen area, the culmination of years of negotiations by the Eastern European countries to join the ID check-free travel zone.

Identification checks at the land borders between Bulgaria and Romania and their neighboring European Union-member countries were officially ceased at midnight, providing travelers free access to the rest of the 27-member EU bloc.

The Schengen Area was established in 1985 as an intergovernmental project between Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It has gradually expanded to become the largest free travel area in the world. — Associated Press