Monthly Archives: April 2015

In the beginning of March Bulgaria launched a national campaign in support of its accession in Schengen. According the Deputy Prime Minister for European Policies Coordination and Institutional Affairs Meglena Kuneva, the accession of the country in the travel free Schengen zone should become a national task. Bulgarians should be aware that Schengen is a synonym of security, economy and prestige.

The joint efforts of the Deputy PM, the Justice Minister and the Culture Minister resulted in the campaign “Bulgaria in Schengen. It’s Time!” The campaign was opened at the Archeology Museum in Sofia. In the video it is stated that the double standard concerning Bulgaria’s accession in the Schengen area is unacceptable.

The video comes in several language versions and presents Bulgarians from all spheres of life, smiling, with the national flag in the background. Upon launching the national campaign, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that the accession of Bulgaria into the Schengen zone will become a fact when the public opinion on that matter is united.

Last month it became clear that Germany keeps its cautious position over the Schengen Bid of Bulgaria and Romania. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the president of Romania met in Berlin to discuss the accession of Romania into the Schengen zone. Mekrel said that Romania is making progress towards entering the Schengen Zone, yet there is still no clearance when the accession in Schengen will happen.

Currently both Romania and Bulgaria are on hold as far as Schengen zone is concerned. Both countries are part of the European Union since 2007. The main reasons for postponing the accession include corruption, lack of political willingness, organized crime, lack of transparency on the different policies.

According to the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Bulgaria needs to be given a political signal, as well as a little confidence that the country is on the right path of Schengen accession. Minister Daniel Mitov further said that coordination is required between Bulgaria, Romania and Greece for all European Union regional projects. The Bulgarian Foreign Minister believes that Bulgaria will join the Schengen Area as that is the base for fighting against the threats and the terrorism. The politician said once again that Bulgaria has already implemented all technical measures that are needed for the Schengen membership and has done almost no mistakes as an external border of the European Union.

In a meeting with journalists, the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Mitov said that Bulgaria and Romania have agreed to coordinate their positions as far as an accession in the Schengen area is concerned. By having unified position, the two countries are expected to be accepted more seriously and their achievements in meeting the technical criteria are expected to be accepted.

Several weeks ago Minister Mitov met with his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu, during a meeting between the presidents of Romania and Bulgaria. The politicians discussed the fact that the two countries are already acting as member states of the Schengen zone. Based on that Romania and Bulgaria will insist on clarification over the accession of the two countries in the border-free area of Schengen. Both countries do meet all the technical requirements, they have modern equipment and good control on the borders.

The Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva took part in the General Affairs Council in Brussels in the middle of February. During the meeting she insisted that the usage of the Schengen accession in order to pressure Bulgaria into fulfilling the EU obligations it has in the spheres of home affairs and justice is not productive.

Meglena Kuneva stated that the European Union border countries, which are located near turbulent regions should not be deprived from the security measures offered by the Schengen Area. The Deputy Prime Minister informed the participants in the General Affairs Council in Brussels that Bulgaria is implementing the EU commitments it made, adopting the judicial reform strategy, preparing the administrative reform plan at the Interior Ministry and also drafting the anti-corruption plan.

According to Meglena Kuneva, the accession of Bulgaria to the Schengen Area would be very beneficial to the overall security of the EU. The Deputy Prime Minister stated that the country has met the criteria of Schengen and is supposed to take advantage of the benefits that the membership in Schengen provides in terms of security.

Bulgaria has already taken all measures for strengthening the EU framework in order to combat terrorism including exchange of information with Europol, adopting the EU Directive on airline passenger data, as well as preventing the illegal arms traffic, etc.