Bulgaria Stable, Schengen is Instrument for Remaining Such

On a meeting with Timo Soini, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Coordination of European Policies and Institutional Affairs Meglena Kuneva stated that Bulgaria is an island of stability in Southeast Europe and in order to remain such should be applied the Schengen Area instrument. That happened on a two-day working visit of Meglena Kuneva to the capital Helsinki. The two Deputy Prime Ministers focused on the refugee situation and the possibility of Bulgaria to join the Schengen Area.

Bulgaria is technically ready for becoming a member state of the travel free Schengen area and all European institutions know that well. The Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister stated that she is expecting a positive decision in October after the European Council sitting and the Justice and Home Affairs Council sitting. Bulgaria is already successfully guarding the EU’s external border using the 10-fingerprint biometric device in line with the latest Schengen Area standards. Jari Lindstrom and Meglena Kuneva further discussed the preparation of Bulgaria’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2018. Finland will take over the presidency about a year later so the two talked about the consistency in European policies as well.