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The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Plamen Oresharski had a meeting with the Prime Minister of Romania Mr. Victor Ponta at the end of June. The meeting was arranged to discuss various matters of mutual interest for the two countries, however the main topic was the two countries’ bid to enter the passport free Schengen area. The two prime ministers agreed to organize a summit in the city of Varna in the autumn. The main decision that resulted from their meeting in July was that the two countries decided to work together and to face the difficulties they encounter. The two countries will coordinate their positions in an attempt to have a better standing in front of their partners from the European Union.

The accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen zone was blocked in March by a group of member states, on the basis of problems with the organized crime and the corruption which the two countries are believed to have. During the meeting the two prime ministers also discussed several projects that concern both of the countries, such as the energy project of Nabucco and the natural gas networks between the two countries.

In the middle of June during a meeting with the Romanian Prime Minister, the Prime Minister of Slovakia confirmed that his country strongly supports Bulgaria and Romania accession to the border-free Schengen zone. He also said that no new criteria are expected to be implied. According to the Prime Minister Roberto Fico, there should be no other criteria for the accession besides the requirements that have already been established and which the two countries follow.

A few weeks later Lithuania declared its support for Bulgaria and Romania for their efforts to enter the Schengen zone. Lithuania will be the next country that will host the European Union presidency and it will offer a discussion on accepting Bulgaria and Romania in the border free Schengen zone. This is expected to happen in December during a meeting of the European Ministers of Interior. According to Lithuania, they will do their best to reach a favorable decision on Bulgaria and Romania entering the Schengen area. The president of the country has presented his credential letters to the Bulgarian ambassador in Lithuania, stating that his country strongly supports the accession. Bulgaria and Romania were postponed to enter the passport free zone of Schengen in the beginning of the year when several member state countries stated that they do not show serious results in their fight against organized crime and against corruption.

On July 18th the European Union member states presented the oral Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report on Bulgaria. The report contain facts and does not include political assessments. The spokesman of the European Commission Mr. Mark Gray stated that the report on Bulgaria will not criticize the current government of the country, which is opposed by strikes for a month already. Mr. Mark Gray confirmed that Bulgaria still has political will to work against corruption and to fight against the organized crime. The verbal presentation that was made by the European Commission this week is based only on trustworthy facts. In other words, the information that the European Commssion will recommend a postponement of the entry of Bulgaria into the passport-free Schengen area by at least one year because of the country’s unsatisfying progress and political crisis is false.

At the same time, in the middle of last month, the two member states that are waiting to enter the Schengen zone Bulgaria and Romania, declared that they will joint their efforts for the construction of a third bridge over Danube River. The third bridge will connect the cities of Silistra in Bulgaria and Calarasi in Romania, as it was agreed by the presidents of the two countries during the 18th Central European Summit Meeting in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Bulgaria and Romania will look for financing under the Structural Funds of the European Union, the Program for Cross Border Cooperation and Danube Strategy.

In the spring of 2013, the German Association of Cities complained that they fear from a serious flow of immigrants that will impose a burden on the social protection systems. Gunther Oettinger, the Energy Commissioner stated that Romania, Italy and Bulgaria are “ungovernable” countries that may endanger the stability in the region and in the Schengen zone in general. This speculation showed that the new rules of the Schengen area agreement could be a step back as they will be applied according to the criteria of the member states and can be very biased. According to this agreement, Bulgaria and Romania are no longer candidates to enter the Schengen zone, as they have answered the technical criteria and have the legal right to join the area. The new rules require a new evaluation system, so the organized crime and the corruption could no longer be the easy excuse of the member states to block the entry into Schengen of Bulgaria and Romania.

However, the entry of Bulgaria into Schengen depends on the member countries, the European Parliament and the Commission. Hopefully, thanks to the new rules the member states could feel more at ease to accept the two new countries in the Schengen zone.

In the end of May, the Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement and accepted a new package of legislative measures. According to the new rules shall be established internal borders within the Schengen area, however not everyone sees that as a progress. The agreement reached showed a compromise, since there was a clash in the opinions of the two institutions. It all started in 1985 when seven countries from Europe decided to abolish their internal borders and signed an agreement. The area with no borders was then joined by other states and some states outside the European Union like Switzerland, Iceland Norway and Liechtenstein. Nowadays, Schengen area has thirty members, where twenty-seven of which are using the agreement. The new rules that Bulgaria will have to follow once it enters the Schengen zone, have been set since a great number of immigrants started making troubles for some of the national populations.

The new way of government of the Schengen area aroused after the confrontation between the Council that wants more freedom for the states that want to introduce border controls and the European Parliament that wants to have strict rules on the right of the European citizens to free movement. According to the new agreement, the member states will be able to use border controls if they want to for a period of two years, in case they fear a thread from massive immigration. This means that there will be formalities to enter the Schengen zone if you are not a citizen of the European Union. The travelers will need to register online.