Bulgarian government welcomes limited Schengen accession
Published: Sunday, Dec 31st 2023, 12:51
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The Bulgarian government has welcomed the decision by the EU states to lift checks on people at the country's air and sea borders. Accession to the Schengen area is a national priority, according to a statement issued by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maria Gabriel on Sunday. The EU states decided on Saturday to extend the border-free Schengen area to Bulgaria and Romania.
"Bulgaria has been waiting for this moment for twelve years," wrote Kiril Petkov, co-chairman of the co-governing liberal party "We continue the change" (PP), on Facebook. Bulgaria now wants to work together with the EU towards the abolition of land border controls, explained Foreign Minister Gabriel.
The Russia-friendly opposition parties criticized Bulgaria's limited Schengen accession from the end of March 2024. "We have fulfilled all the conditions and deserve everything - full Schengen accession," said Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova. Kostadin Kostadinov, leader of the nationalist Wasrashdane (Rebirth) party, complained that, following the Dublin Agreement, Bulgaria would now have to take in more migrants returned from other EU countries. "The government is turning Bulgaria into a huge refugee camp," he said.
The south-eastern EU country has a critical external EU border with Turkey that is around 250 kilometers long and is protected by barbed wire fences, among other things. Migrants from crisis areas repeatedly attempt to cross this border into the EU irregularly. From January to the end of November 2023, the Bulgarian border police reportedly prevented 176,000 irregular border crossings almost exclusively at the border with Turkey. A good 18,000 migrants were also arrested inside the country during this period.
The EU countries agreed on Saturday to extend the Schengen area to Romania and Bulgaria. Accordingly, checks on persons at internal air and sea borders are to be lifted from the end of March 2024. A decision on lifting controls at land borders will be made at a later date.
The Schengen area is intended to ensure the unrestricted movement of people in Europe. To date, 23 of the 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland have belonged to it.
©Keystone/SDA
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