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

Bulgaria and Romania remain outside Schengen

| updated on 12/8/22 6:12 PM
Photo: European Council

Only Croatia will be admitted to the Schengen area from January 1, while Bulgaria and Romania remain outside the open travel zone. In today's vote in the EU Council, Austria has blocked the accession of Romania and Bulgaria into Schengen, while the Netherlands supported Romania's bid but opposed Bulgaria's
25 countries voted in favour of Bulgaria. Earlier it was reported that during the discussion the Netherlands had requested a new report on Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification and Mechanism (CVM). Introduced upon the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU, the CVM aimed to bring the two countries in line with EU standards in rule of law. The mechanism was lifted in 2019. The information was provided by BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova.
Bulgaria has never had more support for Schengen. Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said the issue would be raised at upcoming meetings with the European Union. He expects a new positive decision on Bulgaria's accession to Schengen in March

"The issue is political", caretaker Minister of Interior Ivan Demerdzhiev said with regard to the decision of Austria and the Netherlands to stop Bulgaria for Schengen. In his view, the Netherlands’ position is not constructive. "For the time being, Bulgaria will not take reciprocal measures", Minister Demerdzhiev 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

Concert of the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra in Sofia

A concert of the legendary Duke Ellington Orchestra will take place on the square in front of the National Palace of Culture in the center of Sofia at 8:00 p.m. today. It is organized by the National Academy of Music "Prof. Pancho..

published on 7/1/25 6:35 AM

Traditional Crafts Week starts in Plovdiv

Week of Traditional Crafts will be held from July 1 to 5 in the courtyard of the Regional Ethnographic Museum - Plovdiv, the museum announced. From 9:00 to 19:00, more than 40 craftsmen will present the wealth of traditional crafts...

published on 7/1/25 6:05 AM

The weather on Tuesday will remain warm to hot with highs of 29 to 37°C

On Tuesday , the lowest temperatures will be between 16 to 22°C. In Sofia it will be 16°C. During the day, the cloudiness from the north-east will decrease, but over the southeastern regions of Bulgaria before noon and over many..

published on 6/30/25 7:15 PM