“It’s time to lift internal border controls now,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson believes. In an interview with RFE/RL she said she was optimistic about Austria’s decision. Asked what the arguments are for blocking the road of the two countries to full membership, Ylva Johansson said: “Romania and Bulgaria are ready, the Schengen area is ready, so I can’t see any obstacles,” adding that she hoped this will happen before the end of her term of office in a few weeks’ time. Bulgaria and Romania are better prepared to cope with the Schengen area and the land borders than some member states, Ylva Johansson believes.
“This time there are signals and hope that all obstacles on Bulgaria and Romania’s road to the Schengen area by land will be removed,” said MEP Andrey Kovachev in Strasbourg, and added that he is expecting today’s meeting of the interior ministers of Bulgaria, Romania and Austria in Budapest with a great deal of interest. The meeting is discussing Austria’s conditions for the two countries’ full accession to the Schengen area.
On the eve of the meeting, Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said, in an interview with APA, that Bulgaria and Romania had made significant progress in the protection of the external borders and in combatting illegal migrant trafficking. "We see that these efforts are paying off, and we want to continue on this path and adopt a new package," he said.
The new conditions will include increasing the financing of the protection of the external borders and more border checks between the two countries.
A total of 59 people lost their lives and 155 were injured in a fire that flared up during a concert by the popular band DNK in North Macedonia last night. The fire erupted at the Pulse club in the town of Koçani, 65 km from the Bulgarian border. Some of..
Overnight, clouds over the north and east will bring brief showers. There will be light to moderate westerly winds which will increase in strength on Monday, veering north-west and bringing in cold air. Showers will be widespread, especially in the..
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there are no reports of Bulgarian citizens being injured in the fire in the Macedonian city of Kočani. The Bulgarian Embassy in Skopje is in constant contact with Macedonian authorities and..
A protest was held in the city of Pernik against animal abuse and for maximum sentences for two residents of the city, Gabriela Sashova..
March 18, 2025 has been declared a National Day of Mourning in memory of the young people who died in the tragic fire in a nightclub in the town of..
At night, the wind will shift from the north-northeast and bring in cold air. On Tuesday, cloudy weather will prevail. In many places..
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