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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.

Several weeks ago the media in Macedonia paid special attention to the statement made by Meglena Kuneva, the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria as she commented on the chances of the country to be accepted in the border-free Schengen zone. The prognosis is that Romania will soon become a member of the Schengen area, and Bulgaria will most probably be left behind. This is expected based on the coming progress reports of the European Commission on the two countries.

According to Meglena Kuneva, the two countries will most probably be separated in their efforts to enter the passport-free travel zone. Schengen zone is an economic area and most probably Romania will be the first to be accepted there, while Bulgaria will get a second negative report in a row. The Macedonia media stated that there will be restrictions for Bulgaria in the Schengen area and thus – bad news for people with Bulgarian passports.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov recently said that Bulgaria and Romania have successfully met all technical requirements that were asked for by the Schengen authorities and thus they should join the Schengen area together. In an interview for FOCUS News Agency, the Prime Minister stated that there should be no more delays and new requirements ahead of the two countries which are waiting to become members of the Schengen zone for quite some time now.

According to the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria keeps on making efforts for integration of the newest visa information technologies in order to improve the conditions for visa. The consulate representations make efforts for the efficiency of the visa regime and for providing security of the internal borders of the union. The countries that are still showing reservations towards Bulgaria being accepted in the Schengen travel free zone are Germany and France, Belgium and Finland, as well as the Netherlands.

The Deputy Prime Minister for European Policy Coordination and Institutional Affairs recently stated that the judicial reform, as well as the positive results under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, as well as the Schengen accession should be accepted as benefits for the Bulgarian economy. This was discussed on a meeting which Meglena Kuneva held with Jonathan Allen, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria.

As a Deputy Prime Minister, Meglena Kuneva marked the priorities of the new government. According to the program, the government has plans for reforms in major sectors. Once these reforms become reality, Bulgaria can expect a positive report from the European Commission based on the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, followed by acceptance in the Schengen travel free zone. The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is expected in 2018.