Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of the Schengen Area that allows free movement of 420 million people between 29 mostly European Union countries without border checks from Jan. 1, the EU said Thursday.

Romania and Bulgaria will become full members of Europe'sSchengen free-travel area from next month, swelling the number of nations to 29, the EU said on Thursday. Checks at land borders with Bulgaria and Romania will stop from Jan.

BRUSSELS — European Union ministers on Thursday agreed to let Bulgaria and Romania fully integrate into Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone, known as the Schengen area, by lifting land border controls from next year, the EU’s Hungarian presidency said.