With the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen Zone, Europe’s borders will be better protected, and Europe will be stronger, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov has said.
His comments have been addressed to the European Parliament today, while he called on the European Union to play a more active role on the international stage as a mediator and guarantor of peace, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister warned that Moscow is using economic and cultural ties in order to divide Bulgaria, stressing that the EU and NATO membership are the greatest guarantee to continue the path to democratic and European development for his country.
This is why we need to complete our European integration by joining the Schengen area and the Eurozone.
The accession of Bulgaria to the Schengen Zone was blocked in December last year by Austria and the Netherlands over “irregular migration concerns,” in spite of the European Commission’s estimations that the country has met all the needed conditions for this process to be completed.
Bulgarian PM reiterated that Sofia has fulfilled all the needed requirements, stressing that any further postponement is unacceptable and demotivating for the country.
Following Bulgaria’s PM speech, the majority of the Members of the European Parliament called for the end of the discrimination of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens and demanded the Council to vote on the accession of these two countries to the Schengen Zone before the end of this year.
Recently, the Member of the European Parliament, Vlad Gheorghe, confirmed that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area has been included on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) scheduled for December 5 this year.
While the issue continues to be among the main priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, it continues to be opposed by Austria and the Netherlands.
Vienna maintains its stance when it comes to the inclusion of both of these two countries in the passport-free travel zone, and in the case of Bulgaria, the accession of this country is also opposed by the Netherlands.
Last month, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that Vienna continues to maintain its veto regarding the membership of these two countries. Similar comments were also made by the Dutch Migration Minister, Eric van der Burg, in the case of Bulgaria.
Recently, the European Commission said that it is ready to conduct a new fact-finding mission in Sofia to evaluate the country’s readiness to become part of the EU.
