Yearly Archives: 2015

In the first week of December Meglena Kuneva, the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for coordination of the European policies and institutional affairs, spoke at the Bulgarian Parliament, stating that Bulgaria is technically ready to join the Schengen zone. According to Kuneva the country has been constantly inspected in the period 2009 – 2011, and all the reports stated that Bulgaria is technically ready to enter the passport-free Schengen zone. Kuneva said that the Schengen accession of Bulgaria depends on the member states are ready to accept it.

The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European affairs further stated that Bulgaria received serious support for Bulgaria’s entry into the travel free Schengen area from the President of the European Council. She further noted that Bulgaria has undergone a stress test with the migration pressure on its border with Turkey and the country did great. Kuneva is hopeful that Bulgaria will soon receive positive news for the gradual elimination of the borders with Schengen.

In the middle of December the Chair of the European People’s Party Manfred Weber stated that Bulgaria will not join the Schengen Area soon and that the process of joining is a matter of mid-term and long-term work. Mr. Manfred Weber was speaking in front of a group of representatibes from the Youths’ organisation of the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, who were on a visit to Brussels.

According to the European People’s Party Manfred Weber, when CEDB Deputy Chairperson Tsvetan Tsvetanov was interior minister, the trust on the part of some European countries increased with the ability of Bulgaria to exert control at its borders. He further said that currently these countries are lacking trust after a year of unstable government situation. Manfred Weber stated that Bulgaria should invest in its security and should start behaving like a partner in the European Union, deserving respect but also taking responsibilities.

In early December the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker stated that Bulgaria is ready to join the visa free Schengen zone. He further stated that all Europeans should be aware of the high level of readiness that the country has and that Bulgaria might join the passport free zone sooner than expected now. The President of the European Commission made the speech in the first days of December, after he had meetings with the Prime Minister of the country Boiko Borissov in Brussels.

Certain reports were issued, all unconfirmed for now, that Bulgaria will finally enter the Schengen free travel zone in March 2015, when the land, sea and air borders of the country will become part of the Schengen zone in three separate stages. The Prime Minister of Bulgaria stated that he is hoping the entry of Bulgaria into Schengen will not be connected to the co-operation and verification mechanism, valid since 2007 for Bulgaria and Romania in connection with the standards in the justice and home affairs.

In the past few years some of the member states of the European Union were blocking the entry of Bulgaria in the Schengen zone, based on problems connected with the judiciary and law enforcement. However, in the recent years all governments in Bulgaria insist on the fact that the country is meeting the Schengen membership technical criteria. Bulgaria is already applying the Schengen Information System. This database is very important as it shares information about people that should not enter the Schengen zone.

The President of the European Parliament Mr. Martin Schulz has recently announced, that the admittance of Bulgaria into the borderless Schengen area of the European Union has a legal aspect and depends on the country meeting certain criteria. Martin Schulz spoke on a joint conference with Boyko Borisov, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, stating that when the member states of the European Union meet certain criteria, they are entitled to various legal rights. According to that the question whether Bulgaria will join the passport free zone of Schengen should be seen from that point of view and is not a political question.

Bulgaria, along with its neighboring country Romania, joined the European Union in 2007. Both countries hoped to become members of the Schengen zone in 2010, however several of the member states of the Schengen agreement opposed due to fear of issues with organized crime and corruption. The President of the European Parliament is to pay a visit to Bulgaria in the spring and talk about the Schengen bid. This will show confidence in the government of the coalition, as well as in all parties that are presented in the National Assembly.