Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Austria and the Netherlands are saying “no” to Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, for now

| updated on 12/6/22 2:53 PM
Photo: archive

In a comment on Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen area, made at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte stated that next year Bulgaria could take steps forward. 

“At this stage, it's not “no” for Bulgaria, it's “not yet”. More time will be needed for two reasons: a new assessment of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, and the Schengen Verification Mechanism. I spoke with President Rumen Radev and I'm optimistic that next year we can take steps forward,” Mark Rutte said.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer also stated that Austria is against the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area. “More time is needed. We have 75,000 unregistered illegal immigrants in Austria. This means that they have crossed the external border of the EU and have ended up in a landlocked country like Austria. We have to answer these security questions first," Karl Nehammer said.


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.

More from category

Premier Zhelyazkov: Bulgaria has the unanimous support of European leaders for the euro area

"Bulgaria has the unanimous support of European leaders for joining the Eurozone'', Bulgaria’s Premier Rosen Zhelyazkov said before the start of the meeting of European heads of state and government in Brussels. Positive conclusions related to..

published on 6/26/25 5:32 PM

Sofia City Council approves 2025 budget halfway through the year

The Sofia Municipal Council has approved the city's budget for 2025 with 41 votes in favour, four against and ten abstentions . The document's economic framework provides for a retroactive increase in public transport salaries of 300 leva (€153) with..

published on 6/26/25 3:14 PM
From left to right: Dimitar Shalafov, Dragomir Dragomirov, Ivaylo Kukurin and Georgi Todorov.

Local government officials who left the PP said they don't want to be part of backroom deals

At a Sofia City Council (SCC) briefing, municipal officials who recently left the We Continue the Change (PP) party declared they would not be complicit in covering up the truth. The mayors of the capital’s Lyulin and Mladost districts, Georgi..

published on 6/26/25 1:23 PM