The Dutch Parliament votes for the admission of Bulgaria to Schengen

2023-12-22 17:11:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Parliament of the Netherlands has voted for the admission of Bulgaria to the Schengen area, announced the Bulgarian Minister of the Interior, Kalin Stoyanov.

"Now, the only obstacle remains opposition from Austria", Stoyanov said on December 22. As BTA agency reported, Stoyanov said that intense negotiations between Bulgaria and Romania with Austrian officials have already started.

"I hope that Austria will make a decision in the next few days, but I doubt that this can happen before the New Year," Stoyanov declared.

Sofia and Bucharest are trying to join the Schengen area, but have so far been blocked by opposition from Austria and the Netherlands. Bulgaria is also blocked by Hungary, due to the implementation of a transit tax for Russian gas. The suspension of the tax has been accompanied by the lifting of the Hungarian blockade.

The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Nikolay Denkov, said that the decision of the Netherlands was expected, and that Sofia is now in a better position for negotiations with Austria. He also said that the reservations of the Austrian side against illegal immigration are being taken considered in negotiations.

The Deputy Prime Minister, at the same time head of Bulgarian diplomacy, Maria Gabriel, has also welcomed the decision of the Dutch Parliament.

"I am sure that this is in the interest of the whole European Union", she said.

The experts of the European Commission estimated a year ago that Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia were ready to enter the Schengen area, but the Netherlands and Austria did not agree.

Earlier, in November 2022, the Dutch parliament passed a resolution, through which it asked the government to carry out verifications before deciding on the admission of Bulgaria and Romania. Of the three countries, only Croatia entered Schengen on January 1 of this year.

The Schengen area is the largest in the world where you can travel without a visa. It includes 22 countries of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland./ Rel