It is the ambition of Croatia and Bulgaria to enter the Schengen area together, Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said at a meeting with Bulgaria’s Vice President Iliana Iotova in Zagreb.

“We heard Croatia’s support one more time, and the desire that we walk the path to Schengen membership together, and that is an important thing,” Vice President Iotova said. “It is dangerous to replace the technical criteria which Bulgaria has fulfilled, with political criteria. That gives rise to Euroscepticism among Bulgaria’s citizens,” Iliana Iotova said, and expressed the hope that Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia will be accepted to the Schengen area by the end of the year.

Iliana Iotova and Andrej Plenković also discussed Croatia’s forthcoming accession to the Eurozone. Earlier, the Bulgarian Vice President discussed the matter with Croatia’s Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman.