Kristalina Georgieva: what does she think about Bulgaria being postponed to enter the Schengen zone

Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, who is also a Bulgarian has normal reaction about Sofia and Bulgaria being still not accepted in the Schengen zone. She gave an interview for Darik Radio. According to her, this is not the highest priority for the country at that moment and it is better not to do things in a rush. The European Commissioner accepts the fact that the member states of the European Community show no strong political willingness to allow entry of Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen zone. Furthermore, she thinks that such decision could be taken in the next 12 or 24 months.

Kristalina Georgieva interprets the decision of the Schengen member states in two directions. The first one is related to Bulgaria’s willingness to solve it social problems, reduce the unemployment rate and make efforts towards economic growth. The second one is associated with the measures that the country has to take in order to improve the situation for the most affected and suffering social groups. As a European Commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva claims that the social priorities that have to be taken now include increase of the pensioners’ income and financial help for the families with small children. The country has to have stable economic and political situation and then make more efforts to enter the Schengen zone.