ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2026 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria's full Schengen membership will not open the floodgates to the EU, says Interior Minister

Interim minister of the Interior Atanas Ilkov
Photo: Hristo Kasabov/ BTA

A quadripartite meeting of the interior ministers of Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria and Romania in Budapest on 22 November made it clear that Austria would lift its veto and that Bulgaria and Romania would probably become full members of Schengen from the beginning of 2025 - not only by air and sea, but also by land. "Bulgaria's full Schengen membership will not open the floodgates to the EU," interim Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov assured a briefing after his return to Bulgaria. 

Border police chief Anton Zlatanov also said that border controls would not be relaxed. On the borders with Romania and Greece, Bulgaria will use the experience of Hungary and Austria in controlling internal borders. On the border with Greece, there will be compensatory measures in the border area. There will be patrols that will carry out risk-based checks so that traffic is not hindered. 

On the border with Turkey, 100 police officers from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria will be deployed to participate in the controls.

The final decision on Bulgaria's land entry into Schengen will be taken on December 12, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said yesterday.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria News    anton zlatanov bulgaria comments ilkov romania schengen

More from category

Amendments to the draft budget hint at state's readiness to buy Lukoil assets

Two billion euros in additional state guarantees and a concession of the Bulgarian Sports Totalizator are part of changes to the draft budget for 2026, submitted between the first and second readings. The change that increases the..

published on 11/25/25 4:47 PM

More than 86% of people say that wage growth in 2025 is not sufficient

The increase in the minimum wage is supported by 54.1% of Bulgarians. 1/3 of respondents believe that the minimum wage should be equal to the living wage. This is indicated by the results of a representative survey by the Myara..

published on 11/25/25 1:19 PM

President Rumen Radev: Peace in Ukraine will be written by the victors

“We see a rational plan for a quick peace from President Donald Trump, according to which the situation on the battlefield is developing extremely unfavorably for Ukraine, and he is trying to prevent a worse scenario and additional casualties,”..

published on 11/25/25 11:14 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Overcast, rain
Min: 8 | Max: 14
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 18
Cloudy
Min: 8 | Max: 18
Rain / Snow
Min: 1 | Max: 3
Rain / Snow
Min: 0 | Max: 3
Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 8
Cloudy
Min: 6 | Max: 15
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 16
Overcast, rain
Min: 11 | Max: 16
Overcast, rain
Min: 10 | Max: 15
Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 8
Rain / Snow
Min: 1 | Max: 2
Cloudy
Min: 7 | Max: 18
Overcast, rain
Min: 4 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 3
Cloudy
Min: 7 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: 4 | Max: 10
Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 8
Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 9
Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 16
Overcast, rain
Min: 5 | Max: 13
Overcast, rain
Min: 5 | Max: 15
Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 4 | Max: 10
Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 11 | Max: 19
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"