“It’s time to lift internal border controls now,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson believes. In an interview with RFE/RL she said she was optimistic about Austria’s decision. Asked what the arguments are for blocking the road of the two countries to full membership, Ylva Johansson said: “Romania and Bulgaria are ready, the Schengen area is ready, so I can’t see any obstacles,” adding that she hoped this will happen before the end of her term of office in a few weeks’ time. Bulgaria and Romania are better prepared to cope with the Schengen area and the land borders than some member states, Ylva Johansson believes.
“This time there are signals and hope that all obstacles on Bulgaria and Romania’s road to the Schengen area by land will be removed,” said MEP Andrey Kovachev in Strasbourg, and added that he is expecting today’s meeting of the interior ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Austria in Budapest with a great deal of interest. The meeting is discussing Austria’s conditions for the two countries’ full accession to the Schengen area.
On the eve of the meeting, Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said, in an interview with APA, that Bulgaria and Romania had made significant progress in the protection of the external borders and in combatting illegal migrant trafficking. "We see that these efforts are paying off, and we want to continue on this path and adopt a new package," he said.
The new conditions will include increasing the financing of the protection of the external borders and more border checks between the two countries.
On Friday , the lowest temperatures will be between 18 to 25°C. In Sofia it will be 20°C. During the day it will be sunny and hot again. There will be light wind, mainly from the east. The highest temperatures will be between 36 and..
“We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria”, “Alliance for Rights and Freedoms” and MECH have submitted a request to the Speaker of the National Assembly Natalia Kiselova to convene an extraordinary plenary session to consider the..
The contingent of the NATO Stabilization Force in Kosovo has been welcomed with a solemn ceremony in Blagoevgrad, BTA reports. In his welcome address, Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov congratulated the servicemen on the successful..
According to forecasts by industry representatives, the introduction of the euro is expected to impact property prices in Bulgaria . Some predict price..
The National Assembly adopted a declaration condemning the ongoing war against Ukraine and the political repression of Vladimir Putin's regime with 112..
Bulgaria’s National Assembly has passed, at second reading, amendments to the Road Traffic Act. Municipal cameras and those from the national toll..
+359 2 9336 661