Bulgaria is set to join the Schengen Area before October 2023 – EURACTIV.com

Bulgaria is expected to join the Schengen Area by October next year at the latest, in line with the deadline given to President Rumen Radev at last week’s European Council meeting in Brussels. This was stated by Minister of Justice Krom Zharkov in an interview on Wednesday (December 21). Nova TV.

Mr. Zharkov said that Bulgaria had received a clear commitment thanks to the substantive work of the Cabinet in recent weeks and Mr. Radev’s international authority.

In order to clarify its path towards Schengen, the Bulgarian parliament must adopt several key reforms related to the rule of law. However, Bulgaria should not be concerned that the Netherlands, which has blocked its accession to the Schengen Area, expects the country to comply with the reports of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism – suspended by the European Commission in 2019.

These reports should not upset us. We have fulfilled our obligations.”Mr. Zarkov said.

Mr Radev commented last week that Bulgaria had asked for guarantees that it would certainly become a Schengen member in 2023, preferably by October. He has since said he hopes membership can be finalized even before October.

“We are about to reach a deadline for Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen, which is irreversible”He said before the meeting of the European Council in Brussels.

On December 8, European ministers approved Croatia’s accession to the Schengen Area. Austria and the Netherlands blocked Bulgaria, but Austria blocked Romania as well.