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Several countries are already members of the travel free Schengen agreement zone, however they have the option to choose whether or not to apply the new measures that are taken under the European Commission Treaty that works within the framework of the European Union. This is valid even for the countries that made a development of the Schengen zone in first place. For example, Denmark is bound with certain measures that it has to follow under the common visa policy.

The United Kingdom and Ireland can take part in all or in some of the Schengen agreements according to the protocol from the Treaty of Amsterdam. This can happen if the member states of Schengen and the government representative of the country vote in favor within the Council. In general, the United Kingdom tries to cooperate in some aspects of Schengen, which include the judicial cooperation and the police cooperation, as well as the application of the SIS system. In year 2000 Ireland also asked to take part in some aspects of Schengen that were covered by the request of the United Kingdom. The request of Ireland was approved in 2002. When Bulgaria becomes part of the Schengen agreement, it’s believed that the country will accept all agreements concerning Schengen as a full member.

The future MEPs of Bulgaria had a recent meeting with the president and discussed several important topics that concern both sides. On 9th June, the representatives of Bulgaria at the European Parliament attended a meeting with the president of Bulgaria Mr. Rosen Plevneliev in order to discuss their priorities concerning the European Parliament. The representatives of the European Parliament and the President could find dozen of topics to discuss including the bid of Bulgaria into the Schengen area and the chances of the country to be accepted as part of the travel free Schengen zone.

Iliyana Yotova, who has become a MEP as a member of the Coalition for Bulgaria commented that on the meeting were discussed the foreign policy of the country, the refugees, and the entire situation, etc. When asked about the nomination of a Bulgarian European Commissioner, Ms. Yotova replied with the words of the President, namely that the leading thing in this matter is for the political formations to reach an agreement on the principles and then based on these, the European Commissioner would be nominated in order to avoid a precedent.

Recently became clear that the Foreign Minister of Austria Mr. Sebastian Kurz is supporting the progress that Bulgaria has made for being accepted in the Schengen travel free area. Mr. Kurz gave his support for the entry of Bulgaria in the Schengen area during a meeting that he had with his Bulgarian counterpart Mr. Kristian Vigenin, which was held in the Austrian capital Vienna. The two ministers of Austria and Bulgaria further discussed the Southern Stream gas pipeline and agreed that it plays a great role in the energy security of Europe.

During the official meeting, the Foreign Minister of Austria Mr. Sebastian Kurz and the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Mr. Kristian Vigenin also discussed the situation with the refugees and the immigrants. At that point Mr. Vigenin expressed his opinion that the European Union needs a border policy that is not only focused on the integration and the border security, but is also targeted at the direct support of the countries in the conflict. Both Kurz and Vigenin shared their idea that the European Union has to be enlarged into the countries from the Western Balkans and expressed their opinion how important the good neighborly relations are.

The Foreign Minister of Bulgaria, Mr. Kristian Vigenin informed the citizens of Bulgaria that Italy supports the Schengen bid of Bulgaria. Few days ago on a meeting with his Italian counterpart Federica Mogherini, Mr. Vigenin announced that Bulgaria and Italy will work together on the implementation of the project for the gas pipeline of Southern Stream. According to a quote on the Bulgarian National Radio, the Foreign Minister made it clear that Bulgaria has every reason to believe that Bulgaria’s accession into the Schengen area could become a fact in the autumn of 2014.

Mr. Kristian Vigenin further announced that the Foreign Minister of Italy had vowed his country to convince other member states why the approval of the Schengen accession of Bulgaria is important during the Italian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Italian Presidency will take place from July until December 2014. The Foreign Minister of Italy had put an emphasis on the fact that Italy believes Bulgaria to be ready to join the Schengen travel free zone and that there is no reason for postponement any more. The two foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Italy had agreed on joining their efforts in the implementation of the gas pipeline Southern Steam and defending it from political attacks.

In year 1985 several countries in Europe took a decision and formed a territory with no internal borders, naming it the Schengen area. The original member states of the Schengen area were five – Germany and France, Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as the Netherlands. Through the years the Schengen area gradually and slowly expanded to include now as a member state almost every country in the European Union. The first countries that joined the Schengen area after it was formed include Italy in 1990, Portugal and Spain in 1991, Greece in 1992, Austria in 1995, Finland, Denmark and Sweden in 1996. The great expansion of the Schengen zone followed in 2007 when the border free zone was joined by the Czech Republic and Estonia, by Lithuania and Latvia, by Malta and Hungary, by Slovenia, Slovakia and Poland.

In 2008 the associated country of Switzerland also entered the Schengen zone. The countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus are perceived as not yet fully fledged members of the Schengen area. At the current moment these countries have border controls between them and the Schengen zone and they will stay for now. When the European Union Council decides that these countries have met the conditions required, the internal border controls will be abolished.

The Schengen area was developed by five original member countries with an agreement signed in June 1985. After the passport-free area was arranged was signed an extra convention five years later, according to which the internal borders of the member states were abolished and one single external border was formed. From then on the immigration checks for the Schengen area were carried out according to the identical procedures. Bulgaria aims to become a member of the Schengen area and is technically prepared for that. When this happen and Bulgaria becomes a member state of the Schengen agreement, the country will have to follow common rules in regards to the visas, the external borders, the right of asylum, etc. which regulation are adopted in order to allow the free movement of people within the territory of the member states.

The freedom of movement in the Schengen zone comes with certain compensatory measures, which come to reconcile security and freedom. These measures include improved cooperation, better coordination between the judicial authorities and the police, measures for safeguarding of the internal security and special measures for fighting the organized crime. With all that in mind, the Schengen area soon set up the so called SIS or the Schengen Information System. This is a special database that is used by the authorities of all member countries of the Schengen agreement. Thanks to that sophisticated system, the authorities of the member countries of Schengen are able to exchange information on people and goods.

The Schengen area is a territory which allows free entry and movement of people, who are residents of the member states included in the agreement. Several attempts have been made by Bulgaria in order to enter the passport free Schengen zone. Technically, the country is prepared for that important step, however there are certain issues that the country has to overcome in order to become a member of Schengen. The countries that are included in the Schengen Agreement had abolished their internal borders and have one single external border. In this passport free zone people can travel without the need of visas for the short stays.

In order to guarantee the security in the Schengen zone, the countries do cooperate. What does this include? The police departments in the member countries of the Schengen agreement cooperate and coordinate their efforts, and the same do the judicial authorities. This cooperation in Schengen has been legally incorporated in the European Union with the Amsterdam Treaty from 1997. Yet, not all countries that are cooperating in Schengen are part of the Schengen area. Bulgaria is also one of these countries, yet there are indications that at some point Bulgaria will enter the Schengen zone one it covers all the conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis.

Since 1985 several countries formed a territory without any internal borders and this became known as the Schengen area. The member states of the Schengen area are Germany and France, Luxembourg and Belgium, as well as the Netherlands.

The Romanian Liberal MEP Norica Nicolai recently said that the exclusion of Romania and Bulgaria from the Schengen area may result in a thread to the European Security after the Ukrainian crises that the world faced. According to the Romanian politician, the European Union is now challenged to admit Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Area. Otherwise it will risk to allow “gaps to appear in the defenses of Europe.” The Liberal said that now it is time for Europe to show unity, rather than to send signals of division between West and East European countries.

According to the Liberal Norica Nicolai, if the Schengen area is not unified and integrated with Romania and Bulgaria becoming part of the Schengen agreement, this will result in gaps that will appear in the defenses of Europe. Romania and Bulgaria got a formal approval by the European Parliament to enter the Schengen zone back in 2011. Since then, the two countries have been vetoed by the governments of Finland and Netherlands, Germany and France. These vetos were based on different judicial concerns. As the Romanian Liberal pointed out Romania and Bulgaria have been implementing best border control technologies and standards for years and thus they should not be victims of internal political struggles.

The French Ambassador in Romania gave an interview for a local Romanian newspaper, where he admitted that the accession of Romania into the Schengen zone has become a difficult topic for all member states of the Schengen agreement. Mr. Philippe Gyusten in his role as a French Ambassador said that a technical subject as the Schengen basically is has turned into a political one. According to the Ambassador of France, the Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania can advance this year as it will not have a political context or an election context.

There are several stages during which Romania and Bulgaria can become members of the Schengen travel free zone. In fact Romania and Bulgaria have hoped to become members of the Schengen agreement since March 2011. At that time the two countries received several negative reports concerning the Cooperation and Verification and their efforts to enter the visa free zone of Schengen were postponed. Several countries, including France and Germany, as well as the Netherlands think that the two new member states will not be in position to keep their external borders save.

In the beginning of April it became clear that the European Committee plans new regulations for people outside the European Union who wish to visit the visa free Schengen zone for short trips, business meetings and holidays. The European Committee in the face of the Euro Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström hopes that these new measures and smarter visa policy concerning the Schengen visas for short stays will attract more tourists, students, artists and business people to Europe.

The offer of the European Committee for alleviation of the Schengen visa requirements include several measures. The first one is for a shorter period for the processing and decision making for granting a visa from 15 days to a period of 10 days. The second one is to give an opportunity for submission of Schengen visa applications in countries of the European Union that are in case the Commonwealth is responsible for examining the application or if there is no representation in the country of application. There are plans for various reductions for the regular passengers, as well as a visa for multiple entries that will be valid for three years.

The rest of the Schengen visa alleviations requirements include a simple application form, a chance for online application, a chance for special schemes for Schengen visa granting at the very border for stays up to 15 days in the travel free zone of Schengen. The European Union will also get the opportunity to issue Schengen visas if the visitor comes for an important event. The authorities are even thinking of a new visa type that will allow the travelers to move into the travel free Schengen zone for a period of up to one year, in case they do not leave the member state they are staying at for a period longer of 90 days. All these changes need to be improved by the European Parliament and the EU Council, however this is expected to happen no earlier than in 2015. In case these changes enter into force, they will apply to all countries in the European Union, the Schengen area and the associated countries of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.