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The President of the European Parliament Mr. Martin Schulz has recently announced, that the admittance of Bulgaria into the borderless Schengen area of the European Union has a legal aspect and depends on the country meeting certain criteria. Martin Schulz spoke on a joint conference with Boyko Borisov, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, stating that when the member states of the European Union meet certain criteria, they are entitled to various legal rights. According to that the question whether Bulgaria will join the passport free zone of Schengen should be seen from that point of view and is not a political question.

Bulgaria, along with its neighboring country Romania, joined the European Union in 2007. Both countries hoped to become members of the Schengen zone in 2010, however several of the member states of the Schengen agreement opposed due to fear of issues with organized crime and corruption. The President of the European Parliament is to pay a visit to Bulgaria in the spring and talk about the Schengen bid. This will show confidence in the government of the coalition, as well as in all parties that are presented in the National Assembly.

Several weeks ago the media in Macedonia paid special attention to the statement made by Meglena Kuneva, the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria as she commented on the chances of the country to be accepted in the border-free Schengen zone. The prognosis is that Romania will soon become a member of the Schengen area, and Bulgaria will most probably be left behind. This is expected based on the coming progress reports of the European Commission on the two countries.

According to Meglena Kuneva, the two countries will most probably be separated in their efforts to enter the passport-free travel zone. Schengen zone is an economic area and most probably Romania will be the first to be accepted there, while Bulgaria will get a second negative report in a row. The Macedonia media stated that there will be restrictions for Bulgaria in the Schengen area and thus – bad news for people with Bulgarian passports.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov recently said that Bulgaria and Romania have successfully met all technical requirements that were asked for by the Schengen authorities and thus they should join the Schengen area together. In an interview for FOCUS News Agency, the Prime Minister stated that there should be no more delays and new requirements ahead of the two countries which are waiting to become members of the Schengen zone for quite some time now.

According to the Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria keeps on making efforts for integration of the newest visa information technologies in order to improve the conditions for visa. The consulate representations make efforts for the efficiency of the visa regime and for providing security of the internal borders of the union. The countries that are still showing reservations towards Bulgaria being accepted in the Schengen travel free zone are Germany and France, Belgium and Finland, as well as the Netherlands.

The Deputy Prime Minister for European Policy Coordination and Institutional Affairs recently stated that the judicial reform, as well as the positive results under the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, as well as the Schengen accession should be accepted as benefits for the Bulgarian economy. This was discussed on a meeting which Meglena Kuneva held with Jonathan Allen, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Bulgaria.

As a Deputy Prime Minister, Meglena Kuneva marked the priorities of the new government. According to the program, the government has plans for reforms in major sectors. Once these reforms become reality, Bulgaria can expect a positive report from the European Commission based on the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification, followed by acceptance in the Schengen travel free zone. The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is expected in 2018.

Meglena Kuneva, the Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister, warned the local authorities that the forthcoming report by the European Union Commission on justice and on internal affairs is not going to be positive. This document is prepared on a yearly basis and is done under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. That mechanism was established especially for Romania and Bulgaria for their entry into the European Union in 2007.

According to Kuneva, that report shall not be favorable for Bulgaria, especially when compared to the report for Romania. This will be so as Bulgaria has not marked a progress compared to the previous report. At the same time Romania expects a second positive report, marking its progression. Bulgaria receives bad reports due to the delay of the political measures. Kuneva hopes that the next Cooperation and Verification Mechanism report will be positive once the country elects a Chair of the Supreme Court of Cassation, as well as a Chief Inspector at the Inspectorate of Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council. According to her a judicial reform is of great importance for the country to have better chance to be accepted at the travel free Schengen zone.

Kuneva further said that the Justice Minister and the Interior Minister are determined to restore the bid of Bulgaria for Schengen accession and make that their priority. In order to become part of the Schengen area with no border control, Bulgaria has to be prepared in terms of border security, visas, protection of personal data and police cooperation.

The Deputy Prime Minister at the European Policy and Institutional Matters, Meglena Kuneva, informed the Ambassador of Romania in Bulgaria that the Schengen area accession of Bulgaria and Romania is a target that is achievable for the two countries. According to the press office of the Bulgarian government, among the first visits abroad of Mrs. Kuneva would be to Bucharest where the Deputy Prime Minister will discuss the Schengen bids of Bulgaria and Romania with various representatives of the Romanian government.

Meglena Kuneva stated that in order for good results to be achieved under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was among the main priorities of the new Bulgarian government. The Deputy Prime Minister further stated that she will make everything possible to speed up the justice reforms and the fight against corruption in Bulgaria. According to Meglena Kuneva, Romania and Bulgaria have to keep a special relationship in connection with their common goals in the European Union. According to her, the EU investment program should include cross-border projects that will improve the life of the people in the two neighboring countries as far as economic growth is concerned.

Francois Fillon, who is the former Prime Minister of France and also a candidate for becoming a leader of the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement as well as for the presidential election in 2017, recently stated that he is against the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen area. In an interview for the French television TF1, Mr. Francois Fillon stated that France should prevent Romania and Bulgaria from entering the Schengen as these are the two countries wherefrom most Roma people come in France.

The former Prime Minister of France further stated that a brand new Schengen area with special border services and just key countries inside which are usually target for mass immigration. Naturally, Mr. Francois Fillon wants more strict conditions for getting French citizenship. At the same time, Romania and Bulgaria hope to be accepted in the movement free Schengen zone soon, as both countries are absolutely ready to become members, as far as technical issues are concerned.

Recently the Foreign Affairs Minister of Romania Titus Corlăţean stated that no consensus has been reached in connection with the acceptance of Romania in the Schengen area. The minister further stated that he is sure Romania will finally be joining Schengen, though the country is now not in the area where the target was overbid. Some of the people in the country say that Romania should be alone in the search for Schengen entry. Others believe that it would be better for Romania to apply for entry in the Schengen zone along with Bulgaria.

Currently, both Romania and Bulgaria have fulfilled the technical criteria to become members of the Schengen zone. However, the two countries have failed to convince the member countries of the Schengen area that they deserve to be accepted as full members. The European political landscape is quite complicated and both Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen is victim of other factors which are not directly associated with the readiness of Romania and Bulgaria to become members of the Schengen travel-free zone.

In the past few years France, the Netherlands and Finland opposite the joining of Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen free movement zone. These countries insisted on a two-step accession – first naval and air borders and later – the terrestrial borders.

The main challenges that stay in front of the new Commission in Strasbourg are associated with the migration policy, Energy Union, as well as the equality between the women and men. The new European Commission voted a European Parliament that was headed by Jean-Claude Juncker. The head of the Bulgarian delegation in the European People’s Party, which is also a Deputy Chairperson of the EPP at the EU Parliament Maria Gabriel informed Juncker on several challenges that concern Bulgaria.

Among these challenges was the consistency between home and foreign policy, as well as the coordination and solidarity between the EU member states. The Deputy Chairperson of the EPP at the EU Parliament Maria Gabriel further stressed out the necessity of a comprehensive approach of the EU Commission on migration. The Deputy Chairperson made a statement according to which there must be a real migration diplomacy to be based on cooperation with the countries of transit and the enhanced dialog, especially between the countries of the southern Mediterranean. The importance of smart visa policy was further stressed in order to support objectives of the EU.

Among the most important topics that were discussed were also the support that Romania and Bulgaria search for in connection with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen area and the possible free movement of people.

In the middle of August, a few days after he received his new post, the Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov met the new German Ambassador in Bulgaria Detlef Lingeman. At the meeting, the Foreign Minister described Germany as a very important strategic and economic partner. The minister confirmed the good relations of the two countries and expressed their will to cooperate.

The new German Ambassador in Bulgaria said that there are many Bulgarian nationals who are living and working in Germany and that his country is appreciative of their contribution to the economy of Germany. The Ambassador further stated that there is a great potential in the sphere of the investments. The two politicians also discussed the priority goals on the agenda of the current caretaker government of Bulgaria, the nomination of Kristalina Georgieva for EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, as well as for High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security.

The Foreign Minister of Bulgaria Daniel Mitov stressed the need for a common EU energy strategy and gas supply sources diversification. He also pointed out to new German Ambassador that Bulgaria expects a positive comments and support from Germany for its Schengen accession bid.