Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov has announced that
Bulgaria will have two possibilities to enter the visa-free Schengen region
this year, in October and December.
Romania and Bulgaria are competing to join the Schengen area, however, due to insufficient measures taken to regulate irregular migratory flows, the Netherlands and Austria are blocking both of their applications, with Austria only opposing Bulgaria's application.
Denkov, the prime minister of Bulgaria, admits that due to resistance
from the Netherlands and Austria, he cannot guarantee Bulgaria's entry into
Schengen by October. He thinks the Dutch will prioritise stopping irregular
migratory flows from the Turkish external border of the EU. Denkov, however, is
optimistic that the Spanish EU Council chair will back Bulgaria and Romania's
application for Schengen membership when they get another opportunity in
December. Spain supports both nations and gives Bulgaria and Romania's entry
into the Schengen Area first priority. There won't be any significant arguments
raised against Bulgaria's admission to Schengen if it honours all of its
obligations and passes the required legislation.
The Netherlands plans to remove its veto over Bulgaria in
2023, isolating Austria within the EU due to Bulgaria's judicial reform and the
Commission's decision to end the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism in the
Balkan nations. This gave Bucharest and Bulgaria hope for Schengen membership.
However, the Netherlands' coalition government under Mark Rutte was forced to
dissolve in July due to immigration law differences, creating uncertainty in
admissions procedures. Bulgaria seeks to soften Rutte's position due to his
support for Ukraine and judicial reform. The left is currently leading in
Bulgaria ahead of the November parliamentary elections, with Frans Timmermans,
a former EU Commission vice president, campaigning for Bulgaria and Romania's
inclusion in Schengen.
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