Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Austria and the Netherlands are saying “no” to Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, for now

| updated on 12/6/22 2:53 PM
Photo: archive

In a comment on Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, made at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte stated that next year Bulgaria could take steps forward. 

“At this stage, it's not “no” for Bulgaria, it's “not yet”. More time will be needed for two reasons: a new assessment of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, and the Schengen Verification Mechanism. I spoke with President Rumen Radev and I'm optimistic that next year we can take steps forward,” Mark Rutte said.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer also stated that Austria is against the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. “More time is needed. We have 75,000 unregistered illegal immigrants in Austria. This means that they have crossed the external border of the EU and have ended up in a landlocked country like Austria. We have to answer these security questions first," Karl Nehammer said.


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

According to the US, there is no change in the observance of human rights in Bulgaria

There are no significant changes in the human rights situation in Bulgaria, according to the report on human rights in the world in 2024 by the US Department of State. Significant human rights issues included credible reports of..

published on 8/13/25 1:00 PM

Ministers voice gratitude to volunteers who participated in putting out the wildfire near Sungurlare

We implement policies, we do not engage in gossip, said Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov at the opening of the government meeting. He called on the parliament to restore the constitutionally prescribed normal functioning of cooperation between..

published on 8/13/25 11:28 AM

State Fund “Bulgaria Today and Tomorrow” to introduce a unified tourism brand for the country

The Bulgarian government will create a centralized structure to manage the creation and implementation of a unified brand Bulgaria in order to raise the country’s international image. This is stated in the adopted legislative program of the Council of..

published on 8/13/25 11:06 AM