Indignation and frustration among Bulgarian political parties after refusal of admission to Schengen

With indignation and disappointment, the parliamentary forces commented on the latest refusal for Bulgaria to be accepted in Schengen, arguing that the country has fulfilled all the conditions for entry into the customs union. According to the caretaker foreign minister, efforts should continue at every diplomatic level.

Bulgaria and Romania remain outside Schengen, the European Council approved only Croatia (update)

"We need to see what the solution is exactly and what it implies, whether there are other additional options to be used, because we continue to the end. There is also a council on the 15th and 16th, which is an EU summit, where we will have to raise this issue again. There is no regulation that a formal decision and assessment or anything else that we would be rejected on right now," said Nikolai Milkov, caretaker foreign minister.

"Wrong decision. Wrong decision for Bulgaria, especially for Romania, but also for the whole EU. I hope that very soon, next spring, this decision will be put on the agenda again. It is unacceptable for Bulgaria and Romania to be left as some kind of buffer", said Ekaterina Zaharieva from GERB-UDF.

"As far as I know, the decision on Schengen is not so bad. Rather, it is moving towards a postponement of the decision, both for Bulgaria and Romania in the first months of next year", said Daniel Lorer of "We Continue the Change".

"I think the decision was not unexpected against the background of what we saw in the previous days. It's disappointing, but it shouldn't be disheartening. I think the issue is not completely closed yet. We must make the effort and, if necessary, raise the issue again at the forthcoming summit. I still thought that it was possible to take a decision now, albeit for a later entry into the Schengen area", said Kristian Vigenin from the BSP for Bulgaria.

"This means that we all have to roll up our sleeves and in 2023, all of us in the National Assembly, the government to make sure that Bulgaria joins Schengen. This should be a lesson for the entire political class. We should not get into a process of looking for culprits right now, but the opposite. Indeed, let's roll up our sleeves and do our job so that in 2023 we can congratulate ourselves with Bulgaria in Schengen", said Ivo Mirchev from Democratic Bulgaria.

"What we see is a hypocrisy on the part of the EU, which uses double standards. When it comes to admission to the eurozone, where our currency board guarantee fund would be useful - then they are ready to accept us even if we do not meet the conditions and vice versa," said Nikolay Drenchev of "Vazrazhdane".