
Romania's entry into Schengen, including its land borders, was a highly anticipated moment in the Romanian public space, and this interest was reflected in an intense coverage of the event in the media and online, especially in the first days of the year, but also later, when various developments and even assessments appeared. According to data analyzed with the support of NewsVibe, a real-time online conversation monitoring and analysis platform, since the beginning of the year there have been more than 2,400 mentions of the Schengen Area in relevant online sources, generating an estimated almost 60 million views.
Graphic NewsVibe. Evolution in the number of mentions of Schengen and their total impact from January 1, 2025 to February 3, 2025
Predominant sources
The sources that wrote the most about the Schengen Area during the monitored interval are mainly news websites and generalist media channels, as well as Facebook pages associated with such media platforms. Among the top-ranked sources, stiripesurse.ro, Adevărul, EVZ.ro, each with at least 30 mentions on the topic stand out. A local source - Focuspress from Constanța - is also in 4th place, and in the extended top - an economic platform (Capital).
Grafic NewsVibe. Top relevant online sources that covered Schengen from January 1, 2025 to February 3, 2025
Top keywords mentioned
The terms most frequently associated with the Schengen Area in articles in web sources and social media posts are Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary (as a result of the increase in border traffic between the three countries). Also, other entities frequently mentioned in the context of Schengen references were EU, Marcel Ciolacu, and Government, as well as concepts such as policemen, citizens, Romanians and Europeans. Secondary mention was also made of countries such as Greece, Austria or Germany.
Graphic NewsVibe. Top entities mentioned in association with Schengen from January 1, 2025 to February 3, 2025
Emoji and Hashtag
The most commonly used emoji in Facebook posts mentioning the Schengen Area are the flags of the European Union, Romania, Hungary, as well as the flags of the US and Bulgaria. Also frequently used are emoji symbolizing alert, defeat or partnership.
Grafic NewsVibe. Top emoji used on Facebook in conversations about Schengen from January 1, 2025 to February 3, 2025 The most used hashtags, in Facebook posts on the most relevant pages where the Schengen Area was mentioned, are #romania and #arad. There was an increase in interest in the online space about the traffic in the western area between Hungary and Romania, in particular the increase in the number of Hungarian citizens shopping in the cities of western Romania. Secondarily, #bulgaria was also written about.
Grafic NewsVibe. Top hashtags used on Facebook in conversations about Schengen, between January 1, 2025 and February 3, 2025 Local resources
The local resources that have written the most about the Schengen Area lately are mainly in border counties: Constanța, Satu Mare, Arad and Timișoara.
In general, interest in the subject was highest in the western counties of Romania.
Grafic NewsVibe. Relevant local sources who mentioned the Schengen Area between January 1, 2025 and February 3, 2025
The analysis shows that interest in the Schengen Area has been heavily influenced by Romania's accession with land borders, with a spike in mentions followed by steady but declining interest. The most active locales on the topic were in the western border counties, reflecting the direct impact on cross-border traffic and local trade of Romania's accession to the Schengen Area with land borders.