Deputy Foreign Minister Kodzhabashev: Bulgaria’s Accession to Schengen By End-2022 Remains Top Priority

Jerusalem, 1 December, 2022 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 01.12.2022 13:41 (BTA)
Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen by the end of 2022 remains a top priority of the caretaker cabinet and all competent institutions in Bulgaria. The country has proved that it is a constructive and reliable partner, ready to engage in an open dialogue with all member states to meet the criteria and overcome potential obstacles to its accession to the Schengen area, Deputy Foreign Minister and spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Kostadin Kodzhabashev said at a briefing at the ministry on Thursday.

In his words, the conclusions in the report of the expert mission in Bulgaria, which took place on October 12-13, point unequivocally to the absence of any problems in the implementation of the Schengen legislation and once again state that the country meets the conditions enter the Schengen area.

He said that Bulgaria is continuing the diplomatic efforts to achieve a positive solution. The country is in active dialogue both with the more sceptical countries and with those who, as a majority, support it. He noted the support Bulgaria receives from the European Commission and pointed out the positive news from Sweden after the Swedish Social Democratic Party announced public support for Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to Schengen. According to him, this happened after the Bulgarian government provided positive assessments on the effects of the two countries’ accession to Schengen.

Kodzhabashev also noted that Bulgaria is in active dialogue with the Netherlands, including at the highest political level. Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov took part in a high-level round table on the issue of anti-corruption, during which the anti-corruption agenda of the Bulgarian government and parliament was presented in detail. In parallel, a bilateral visit to the Netherlands of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev and Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov to the Netherlands, was realized. Kodzhabashev stressed that meetings were held with the Dutch Foreign Minister, the State Secretary for Justice and Security, and with the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs in the lower house of the Dutch Parliament.