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.

For Romania and Bulgaria, former Soviet Bloc countries that are now EU members, the light finally changed from red to green on Thursday as EU interior ministers agreed to let the two countries fully join the border-free Schengen zone on Jan.

The European Union ministers has 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 next year.