Bulgaria Implementing the EU Commitments, Ready for Schengen

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.