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Bulgaria and Romania remain outside Schengen, the European Council approved only Croatia (update)
Bulgaria and Romania remain outside Schengen, Croatia becomes a full member on January 1st, 2023.
Twenty five countries supported Bulgaria and Romania, while two countries voted against - Austria and the Netherlands.
This was the last meeting of the Ministers of Interior under the Czech EU presidency. Now Bulgaria has to hope that Sweden, which takes over the presidency on 11 January 2023, will put the Schengen accession issue on its agenda. Bulgaria’s caretaker Minister of Interior, Ivan Demerdzhiev, has spoken to his Swedish counterpart about this and hopes that next year there will be a positive development for Bulgaria.
"I think Bulgaria has performed very well. The very conclusion of the Commission, the reports it gave, the reports and the opinion of the Czech presidency showed quite clearly that Bulgaria and Romania meet all the technical requirements for accession to Schengen. The issue was political. Two countries decided otherwise. 25 countries backed us - and backed us wholeheartedly. And very astutely, believing that this was the right decision. We still think it is the right decision. We are positive and we will work towards finding a compromise so that the two countries with reservations today, will agree," Demerdzhiev said.
According to the Bulgarian Minister of Interior, the country has received congratulations from the European Commission, it is ready and this is the position of Brussels that has been mentioned in recent weeks.
Bulgaria and Romania continue to go as a package and it is very likely that Bucharest will ask for a separation from Sofia in the next vote because only Austria is against their accession, while there are two countries against Bulgaria - Austria and the Netherlands.
Speaking to BNT, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said she would do everything possible during her mandate to make Bulgarian citizens members of Schengen too.
Images by BGNES
"To everyone in Croatia - welcome! Welcome to the Schengen area! But let me also turn to the citizens of Romania and Bulgaria - you deserve full Schengen membership, you deserve access to the area of free movement in Schengen. You have strong support from almost all the Member States and especially strong support from the Czech Presidency, strong support from the Commission. I would be lying to you if I said that I am not disappointed. I share the disappointment of the citizens of Romania and Bulgaria. The role of the Commission is to remain optimistic about the next steps, I am convinced that we will achieve the accession of Bulgaria and Romania within this mandate," Johansson said.
The European Commission has repeatedly stated that Bulgaria meets all the technical requirements for Schengen membership. Sofia will continue talks with Vienna, even proposing Austrian experts to visit Bulgaria. Bulgaria is also ready to work with the Netherlands, but in Ivan Demerdzhiev's words their position is not constructive.
Very often the Netherlands and Prime Minister Mark Rutte mention the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, reports on which have been cancelled for Bulgaria. The Hague also says there is a problem with the implementation of the rule of law in Bulgaria.
Earlier today, before the vote, President Rumen Radev made an appeal to the countries that do not give their consent to Bulgaria's accession. According to Radev, they should understand that the faster Bulgaria joins the Schengen area, the faster we will be able to move forces and resources from the borders with Greece and Romania and redirect them to the EU's external border - the one with Turkey.
HOW DID THIS DECISION COME ABOUT?
Last Friday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that his country would block Bulgaria from Schengen because there are still concerns about protecting the EU's external borders. Rutte believes there is currently a risk of a migrant flow passing through Bulgaria. The PM commented that the possibility of illegally crossing the border with Turkey for, in his words, "a 50 euro note" should be ruled out. This statement provoked strong reactions from the Bulgarian authorities.#
This Tuesday, Austria also announced that it would not support Bulgaria. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that the reason was once again the migrant flow and pointed out that there are currently 75,000 illegal and undocumented migrants in Austria who have entered through the external borders of the European Union. And the Austrian Minister of Interior commented that the system in the Schengen area does not work, therefore it should not be expanded. Late yesterday, Chancellor Nehammer confirmed the country's position.
In the meantime, the British TV channel Sky News published an investigation, made with several other Western European media, which claims that Bulgarian border police shot and wounded a Syrian citizen who tried to cross illegally into Bulgaria from Turkey. Bulgarian authorities categorically denied the information, with the Ministry of Interior saying that the incident was being worked on jointly with Turkish authorities and there was no evidence that any shots were fired at migrants from the Bulgarian side.
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