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Along with the situation concerning the migrant crisis, Bulgaria has strengthened its demand for a membership in the passport free travel zone of Schengen. The aim of Bulgaria to become part of the Schengen area has been blocked by several member states led by the Netherlands on the basis of lack of progress in the fight against the organized crime and the corruption. Now with the refuge crisis, the position of the Deputy PM in charge of European affairs Meglena Kuneva is that this crisis will be facilitated to a great extent by the joining of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area.

If the Romania and Bulgaria enter the Schengen zone, the information exchange between the member states will be easier and that will improve the chance of the countries to deal with the risks that are provoked by the refugee flow and the migration. The authorities in charge in Bulgaria think that now is the time for the Schengen zone to take the proper decisions, which will demonstrate unity between all European states and one unified position.

While that has been happening, Germany temporarily reinstated the border control at its border with Austria due to the influx of refugees. Two weeks ago Austria opened its doors to refugees, which provoked strong reactions of approval all over the world. Yet, the Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Economy Sigmar Gabriel stated that the lack of European action was forcing Germany to limit the number of potential refugees.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for European Policies Coordination and Institutional Affairs Meglena Kuneva stated that Bulgaria had been meeting the Schengen accession requirement for seven years now and it was time to become an equal member. Meglena Kuneva also gave comments on the forthcoming Bulgarian EU Presidency in 2018. According to her the first stage of the preparatory works was already finalized.

Several Ministers of Home Affairs and Justice gathered a week ago for an emergency meeting, during which they were to agree upon the revised proposal of the European Commission concerning the resettlement of 160 thousand refugees currently being in Greece, Italy and Hungary. In addition to the temporary solution, the European Council is also offering a permanent mandatory relocation mechanism based on the number of filed asylum applications and the number of illegal entries into a country in question, both for a period of six months.

Bulgaria, which is still not a member of the Schengen Zone but is a member of the European Union, is against the permanent mechanism. According to the Bulgarian authorities, the crisis development reveals that a simple relocation will not be enough as it will lead to secondary relocations and will increase the tension among the refugees. Besides, the member states cannot stand against the wishes of the refugees that have certain destination. Bulgaria is for a financially secured and well working integration policy, accepted by all member states of the European Union. Bulgaria is open to accept more refugees, but demands the preferences of the refugees to be taken into consideration.

Didier Reynders, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium, arrived to Bulgaria on an official 2-day visit in early September upon an invitation from Daniel Mitov, the Bulgarian Minster of Foreign Affairs. During the official talks, the two ministers discussed the two-way cooperation between Bulgaria and Belgium, as well as some major initiatives of the European Union.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Belgium stated that Belgium will back Bulgaria in the country’s efforts to access Schengen. Yet, Didier Reynders stated that Bulgaria has certain issues to solve first that concern the Parliament, the anti-corruption legislation and some other reforms. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, Bulgaria should have progress in the fight against corruption, and its efforts to protect its borders and to guarantee security of the residents.

Currently, Belgium takes a second place in investments in Bulgaria. This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov. This is so, as the total volume of Belgium investments surpasses EUR 1 billion. Most of the investments are made in the light and in the heavy industry, etc. There is also a growth of tourists coming from Belgium with more than 30 %.

Several days ago the European Commission stated that Romania and Bulgaria meet the criteria to join the travel free zone of Schengen and that the two countries need political decision in order to get into the passport free zone. It is not up to the executive body of the European Commission to take that decision. The decision about the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen zone should be taken by the Council of the European Union.

The countries in the Schengen zone, including the two states that want to become members – Romania and Bulgaria, should react wise to the current crisis with the migrants and should give a unified answer. There should be a mandatory distribution of the refugees among all member states in the European Union. This will allow the Union to keep its Schengen area as it is – free of checks on the border. Until now the Schengen zone has been accepted as one of the success projects of the European Union.

Yet, the situation with the migrants is getting worse. Last Wednesday Denmark has temporarily suspended its rail connection with Germany due to the influx of migrants. The Danish police also clods a motorway set between the two countries after a large group of migrants started walking north of Sweden. All countries in the Schengen zone, including the want to be members Bulgaria and Romania should be careful with the migrant’s situation.

In the end of July the head of the Consular Relations Directorate at Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry Rakovski Lashev said on a press conference that the Bulgarian consulates have improved the readiness of Bulgaria to enter the passport free Schengen zone by meeting all requirements concerning the no visa area. In fact, the consulates in Bulgaria are not only maintaining but also improving the level of readiness of their employees and the equipment they have. Bulgaria has been named ready to join Schengen in 2011 by the European Parliament and the European Union Council.

At the same time, the Bulgarian President stated that Bulgaria wants to be a member of the passport-free travel area of Schengen by 2018 and that he hopes that the country will soon enter the first stage of accession at the Schengen zone – the opening of the air and the sea borders. Romania and Bulgaria are members of the European Union since 2007 and had hopes to join the Schengen area in March 2011. This however did not happen as some members of Schengen have expressed reluctance and concerns over the security and corruption in the two countries.

In the middle of June the Bulgarian President stated that Bulgaria is open towards further integration in the European Union and that the country is willing to contribute to the collective defense of NATO. The president stated that on a joint press conference with Anibal Cavaco Silva, his Portuguese counterpart. These are among the ambitions plans of Bulgaria to integrate in the European Union by 2018, as well as to join the Schengen zone, accept the unified banking supervisory system and the exchange rate mechanism between its national currency – the Bulgarian lev and the Euro.

During the conference, the President expressed his belief that soon the efforts of Bulgaria will be noticed and will allow the country to move to the first stage of its accepting in the travel free Schengen area. The first stage of Schengen entry includes opening of the air and sea borders. The President of Bulgaria further expressed his gratitude for the support that his country received by Portugal, concerning the entry of Bulgaria into NATO, EU and now the attempts to enter the Schengen visa-free passport-free zone. The president of Portugal stated that Bulgaria has already made serious efforts to fulfill all requirements to join the Schengen zone.

Another step was taken by Bulgaria in her attempt to be accepted as a member of the Schengen zone. Several weeks ago, the government of Bulgaria has approved the formation of a special unit aiming to investigate the high-level corruption in the country. This comes as an answer to Brussels, which has criticized Bulgaria repeatedly through the years for failing to put in prison corrupt officials. Both Romania and Bulgaria are now hoping to make a progress in the areas that keep them from joining the travel free Schengen zone.

Until now the corruption has undermined the trust of the Bulgarians in all the public institutions and has kept low the number of the foreign investments made. According to the Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva from now on with the new corruption investigation unit being made, the approach to all residents – ordinary people and high-level officials, will be the same. The anti-corruption unit will start operating in 2016 along with the National Strategy for prevention and for combating of corruption which will be in progress in the period 2015 – 2020. The targets of the investigation of that strategy will be the prime minister and the president, various prosecutors and lawmakers, directors of large institutions, hospitals, etc. This will be another step towards Bulgaria’s accession in the Schengen zone.

Bulgaria and Switzerland has been taken steps into strengthening their cooperation in the spheres of security and economy. That became clear after a meeting in June between the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the President of Switzerland and Head of the Department of Justice and Police Simonetta Sommaruga during a delegation visit in Switzerland.

The issues that have been discussed during the meeting cover the migration policy and the refugee crisis and naturally the Bulgaria’s accession in the travel free Schengen zone. The Prime Minister remarked that Bulgaria has been enjoying Switzerland’s support for Bulgaria’s Schengen accession for a long time. He stated that Bulgaria is protecting the external border of the European Union very well even despite the issues with the refuges, the loss of border fence and the refugee camps near the border.

His Swiss colleague Ms Sommaruga expressed her positive attitude towards the border protection taken and the fight of the country against smuggling. The two politicians agreed to set bilateral relations in different aspects of mutual interest.

The Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has put the Bulgarian issue with the Schengen entry on the table during the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Summit 2015. The president informed his listeners that Bulgaria has treated its commitments very responsibly. Mr. Plevneliev stated the question for Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen area during the first integration state as he feels Bulgarians should not keep on tolerating the postponement and the double standards.

Bulgaria has been fully prepared and ready for entering the passport free travel zone of Schengen for many years already. The local institutions have taken all precautions and the reforms made in the Judiciary system have shown great results. According to the Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev Bulgaria should be included in the first stage of the accession – opening of the marine borders.

The next president of the European Union Council will be Luxembourg and Bulgaria is lucky to have its support concerning the Schengen Accession. This was said by the Deputy PM Meglena Kuneva. This means that as Luxembourg gets the presidency since July 1st, Bulgaria will be strongly supported as far as Schengen area accession is concerned. This became clear after the meeting of Meglena Kuneva – the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Coordination of European Policy and Jean Asselborn – Institutional Affairs and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy.

In fact Schengen was the main topic of the high-end talks and the two state officials. Luxembourg has declared its unequivocal commitment to support all efforts of Bulgaria to enter Schengen within their Presidency. Bulgaria is expected to take the EU Council Presidency in 2018 and that will be the first time of the country.