Although Schengen accession is not an agenda item of the EU summit in Brussels, Bulgaria asked for guarantees on Thursday (15 December) that it will become a Schengen member, specifying an October 2023 deadline.
“We are on our way to reaching an exact deadline for Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen, which must be irreversible,” Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Council meeting in Brussels.
The deadline for the country’s entry into Schengen should be October 2023, he said, expressing hopes that it could happen even earlier.
Bulgaria’s Schengen membership was blocked on 8 December by Austria and the Netherlands. Romania’s accession was stopped only by Austria, while ministers voted for Croatia to be a full member of the passport-free zone from January 2023 by a unanimous decision.
“We have more and more support and I am convinced that we will be accepted by October at the latest. Of course, we will do everything possible to speed up this deadline,” Radev said in Brussels.
The Bulgarian Parliament should adopt two key judicial reforms as quickly as possible, he said. One is to create a mechanism to hold the General Prosecutor accountable, which is currently outside the institutional system of checks and balances.
The other reform is related to the adoption of a new anti-corruption law. These two laws are also a condition for granting the entire amount under the Bulgarian Recovery Plan.
Radev said that at least, it was clear now what Austria and the Netherlands wanted for Bulgaria to become a Schengen member.
A question of dignity
“Membership in Schengen is mostly related to our dignity and taking our rightful place in the European family,” Radev said. He noted that Bulgaria, for the first time, had the support of almost all member states and all European institutions.
In response to a question from EURACTIV, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that Bulgaria needs one more report from the European Commission under the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) before entering Schengen.
“We need two things more from Bulgaria, which is a completed Schengen evaluation monitoring mechanism, and second, a Cooperation and Verification assessment. It could be done around summer. And if it is possible Bulgaria can join. It’s not a ‘no’, it’s a ‘not now’,” he said.
Rutte said: "We need 2 things more from Bulgaria, which is a completed Schengen evaluation monitoring mechanism, and second, a new Cooperation and Verification assessment. It could be done around summer. And if it is possible Bulgaria can join. It’s not a “no”, it’s a “not now" https://t.co/UWqcGN8n6v
— Georgi Gotev & EURACTIV.bg (@GeorgiGotev) December 15, 2022
Another CVM report? A better fence?
Just before the end of its mandate in October 2019, the Juncker Commission recommended ending the special monitoring of Bulgaria but announced that it would continue for Romania.
At that time, the Romanian government was sharply criticised for the pressure it was putting on the judiciary. Despite the criticism, Romania reported over 1,000 convictions for corruption at the high and middle levels of power, while Bulgaria had no such successes.
At the end of November 2022, just before the Schengen vote, the Commission also suspended the monitoring on Romania and issued a positive report in support of the country’s Schengen aspiration.
The Netherlands now claims it needs a new report on Bulgaria as the last one dates from three years ago, while it is not entirely clear if Bulgaria is under the CVM mechanism or not.
The Commission could have ended the monitoring of Bulgaria on its own initiative, but it decided to share the responsibility with the Council of the EU. In this case, a political decision was made to suspend the CVM if the European Parliament and the Council of the EU agree.
The Council of the EU has not yet given its consent due to the resistance of countries such as the Netherlands and Austria. Austria has tied its agreement to Schengen expansion to the implementation of its five-point plan, among which is strengthening the protection of external borders. According to the Bulgarian authorities, the dialogue with the Netherlands is more difficult.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the EU should support Bulgaria to build a better fence along the border with Turkey. The existing fence was built in the period 2014-2016 in reaction to the refugee influx following the war in Syria.
The facility is more than 130 kilometers long and passes through the difficult terrain of Strandzha mountain. Many sections of the fence can be jumped over with a ladder, with some having dug holes under it, and others cutting the wire mesh with scissors.
“There is the need for financial support to Bulgaria for its border to Turkey, so there is adequate border protection. We have to break the taboo of fences. There is the need for a fence in Bulgaria that should be supported by EU financial means,” Nehammer said.
It is unclear if Austria wants a better fence to be constructed before it lifts its veto preventing Bulgaria to join Schengen.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
Source: euractiv.com
