My thoughts exactly. I spent almost two months combined in those 2 last year to help offset my time in Schengen. Not this year though. This year, North Macedonia and possibly Turkey.. I hope joining Schengen was worth it to them.

However, considering that most of the benefits from joining Schengen for those 2 countries would have derived from land border crossings for goods (believe me the lines are huge!), which they did not get. I see this more as a hollow PR victory for their politicians and the EU than anything of real benefit for their economies or their peoples. It's like they got the worse of 2 worlds.

Besides as part of the EU their peoples could already travel, live and work freely within it....