“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.
The import of manpower from non-EU countries is record high, but does not cover the needs of the business sector. Since the beginning of the year, 4,202 third-country nationals have been registered for seasonal employment alone. This is 40% of the..
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 Kočani, Republic of North Macedonia . The decision to this effect was made yesterday by the Bulgarian..
At night, the wind will shift from the north-northeast and bring in cold air. On Tuesday, cloudy weather will prevail. In many places there will be snowfalls. The lowest temperatures will be between minus 1°C and 4°C; in Sofia -..
Workers in state psychiatric hospitals have gone on strike demanding higher salaries and better working conditions, including adequate workplace..
North Macedonia’s Minister of Health Arben Taravari and his Bulgarian counterpart Silvi Kirilov, together with the Foreign Ministers of Bulgaria and..
Bulgaria ranks third among EU countries in terms of minimum wage growth in the period 2015-2025. According to Eurostat, during this..
+359 2 9336 661