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

Bulgaria might enter Schengen in 2023

Dutch PM Mark Rutte
Photo: EPA/BGNES

Before the European Council, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that Bulgaria might enter Schengen in 2023 and that this could happen as early as the summer. 

"We don't say 'no', but 'not now'. We need two more things from Bulgaria - to complete the monitoring mechanism of the Schengen information system and secondly, a new evaluation of the cooperation and verification mechanism". This can be done by the summer and if there is a positive development, Bulgaria can join Schengen," Rutte said.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev commented: "October at the latest - this is the latest date and goal that we set for ourselves and for which we already have increasing support. It depends a lot on whether the Bulgarian parliament will adopt two important laws now, in January - one related to the accountability of the country's prosecutor general and the anti-corruption law". 
Radev also stated that he will give more time to the second political force to try to form a government, BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova reported.



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

Bulgaria included in European familiarisation tour of senior US officers

Deputy Minister of Defence Radostin Iliev and Deputy Chief of Defence Lt. Gen. Krassimir Kanev hosted senior U.S. officers from the National Defense University on February 14. The officers, who have completed the CAPSTONE Senior Military Leadership..

published on 2/14/25 3:00 PM

Ex-PM Kiril Petkov to stand trial over arrest of GERB leader Boyko Borissov

Kiril Petkov, co-chairman of We Continue the Change (PP), is to be tried over the arrest of GERB leader Boyko Borissov on March 17 2022 . Prosecutors submitted the charges against Petkov to the Sofia City Court two months after he voluntarily waived his..

published on 2/14/25 1:40 PM

A new pair of black vultures spotted in the Eastern Rhodopes

A male black vulture, released as part of the reintroduction of the species, has managed to find a life partner, who probably comes from the black vulture colony in Dadia National Park in Greece. The new pair was spotted in the..

published on 2/14/25 12:33 PM