In the wake of the Council of the EU decision not to admit Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area, Bulgarian MEP from the Renew Europe Group Ilhan Kyuchyuk warned that Bulgaria’s non-admission to Schengen is turning into a big problem for the Bulgarian political elite.

• Bulgaria and Romania remain outside Schengen
  

In an interview with the BNR, Ilhan Kyuchyuk cautioned that the pressure to separate Bulgaria from Romania will grow, and that this separation will probably take place in March, adding that big European countries are insisting that the two countries be separated. In his words, the negative image of Bulgaria is fueled by reports by NGOs which remain in the archives of the European institutions. On the other hand, the political elite in the country is not equal to the challenge and is not rallying in the name of the common goals. Instead of that, it is heading into the abyss “as regards Schengen, and the Eurozone with all of these reforms that should have been out in place so we can get our money under the Recovery and Resilience Plan,” Ilhan Kyuchyuk said further.