More than a year after becoming a full member of the Schengen Area, Romania is no longer simply a beneficiary of the border free zone but a provider of security on the frontline of the European Union, writes Cristian Gherasim.
The Schengen Agreement lies at the core of EU’s freedom of movement , scrapping internal border checks among its 29 member states. But there’s a catch: in order to eliminate its internal borders, Schengen’s external frontiers need to be kept safe and secure. Romania lies at Schengen’s external borders. Romania’s frontiers are now Schengen’s frontiers — and by extensions EU’s borders too.
Recent data shows that Bucharest began to take its responsibility seriously. In 2025 local law enforcement authorities seized about 212 million contraband cigarettes, with an estimated black market value of over 197 million lei, according to data from the StopContrabanda.ro. That’s nearly four times the volume recorded the previous year.
The largest volumes of cigarettes seized in 2025 come from border areas, outside of the European Union.
All is not rosy though. The spike in seizures tells in fact two different stories. On the one hand we had indeed law enforcement authorities beginning to do its job, but on the other hand we can see how entrenched the problem really is.
Despite significant improvements, Romania’s eastern border with Ukraine is amongst the most lucrative borders in terms of cigarette smuggling and illicit trade in the EU.
Smuggling routes rarely operate in isolation. The infrastructure used to move contraband goods is often the same infrastructure used for trafficking in persons, irregular migration, and broader organized crime activities. Domestic fiscal policy adds another layer to this complex problem. Romania’s push toward higher excise taxes, while fiscally understandable, risks widening the price gap between legal and illegal goods.
The wider security threat
The Western Balkans has long been part of a route through which goods licit and illicit make their way to Western Europe.
But this extends far beyond that. The same criminal networks dealing in smuggled goods, often rely on the same infrastructure for human trafficking. The Western Balkan route remains a key pathway for irregular migration into the EU. Migrants often traverse Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia before reaching EU borders.
And this is where local enforcement meets geopolitics.
Border security is not just a local problem. It is a European problem. Especially when it comes to EU’s southern borders.
North Africa and the Middle East are both on the edge of a large scale conflict. While European leaders remain deeply engaged with the war in Ukraine and tensions in the transatlantic alliance, threats are brewing at Europe’s doorsteps . The war in Sudan, the horrific humanitarian disaster unfolding there can have significant spillover dangerously affecting EU’s security . Add to that dramatic turn of events in the Middle East and you will have a concoction that could easily be taken advantage of by those trying to undermine the Europe Union and its security interests.
A call to action for the EU
Smuggled good busts are just the tip of the iceberg. Romania is indeed making improvements and securing its borders but the approach needs to be European. Illegal migration is not a local problem though, it is a transnational one. Thus it needs a collective response.
Illegal migration from conflict zones can be dealt with by nipping it in the bud. Humanitarian aid, support for civil society, incentives for immediate peace talks are leverages EU can use to bring a stop to the war.
Times is of the essence as things progress at a very rapid pace. With a war raging next door, with high tensions in the Middle East and a strained relationship with the United States, vulnerabilities along the EU’s borders carry heightened risk.
As for Romania, its borders are not just national borders. They are EU’s borders. Schengen membership was a long-sought achievement. But it is not symbolic. It is operational. And that has upped the game. Securing its national borders is not just a challenge for Bucharest but a resilience test for Schengen itself.
