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

Political scientist Prof. Reinhard Heinisch:

Austria will lift the Schengen veto after next year's elections

Photo: EPA/BGNES archive

Austria will give up the Schengen veto after next year's parliamentary elections, Austrian political scientist Prof. Reinhard Heinisch predicted in an interview for the BNR. Together with the Netherlands, Austria opposes the expansion of the Schengen area. 

What could force the government to reconsider its position towards Bulgaria and Romania are the interests of Austrian businesses, the political scientist believes. "During the parliamentary discussion, it became clear that Austrian companies suffer losses from the fact that both countries are outside Schengen," he said.

According to Bulgarian MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk, it is "absolutely imperative" to become part of Schengen by the end of the year, since 2024 is an election year for the EU, and important decisions are difficult to make in such a period.



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 ranks second in the EU for bathing water quality

According to data from the European Environment Agency published by the European Commission and reported by BNR correspondent in Brussels Angelina Piskova, Bulgaria ranks second in the EU for bathing water quality in 2024. The report states that 97.9%..

published on 6/20/25 5:45 PM

Bulgaria's accession to the euro area was given the green light by ECOFIN

The ministers of economy and finance of the EU member states unanimously backed the Eurogroup's recommendation that Bulgaria should join the euro area on 1 January 2026, Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domański announced, as reported by BNR correspondent..

published on 6/20/25 5:38 PM

New law regulates the crypto-asset market in Bulgaria

The parliament has adopted the Crypto-Asset Markets Act on second reading. It regulates trading in this type of instrument according to European regulations, reporter Maria Fileva informed. The law gives the Financial Supervision..

published on 6/20/25 4:28 PM