Bulgaria reacts to the EU’s refusal to join the Schengen area

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev stated that since 2011, Bulgaria has fulfilled all the necessary criteria to join the Schengen area.

Noting that his country’s entry into the Schengen area will make the EU border secure, Radev said: “Our accession to Schengen will make the external borders of the European Union more peaceful.” he said he.

Stating that Bulgaria’s external borders were inspected twice in the last two months, Radev pointed out that no problems were detected in these inspections and that, despite this, a rejection decision was unacceptable.

Radev said the Netherlands and Austria, which voted in favor of the veto, should not go against their own interests and that they hoped they would one day join Schengen.

The Bulgarian Interior Minister, Ivan Semerciev, reacted to the exclusion of his country from the Schengen area.

Recalling that most of the EU countries support Bulgaria, but the Netherlands and Austria are against it, Semerciev said: “We will continue our efforts. Only two countries are opposed. We will cooperate closely with Sweden, which will assume the Presidency of the Council of the EU.” he said.

At the meeting of the Ministers of Interior and Justice of the Council of Europe, the decision on Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area was rejected by the veto of the Netherlands and Austria. (AA)