site.btaNational Campaign "Bulgaria in Schengen. It's Time!" Starts

National Campaign "Bulgaria in Schengen. It's Time!" Starts


Sofia, March 5 (BTA) - Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva,
Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov and Culture Minister Vezhdi
Rashidov joined the opening of the national campaign "Bulgaria
in Schengen. It's Time!", which was launched at the Archeology
Museum here on Thursday. The campaign is initiated by Party of
European Socialists (PES) President Sergei Stanishev. The
signing of a declaration in support of Bulgaria' Schengen
accession has also started.

"We are today's citizens of united Europe. We find the double
standard surrounding Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Area
unacceptable," the declaration reads. It turned out Bulgarians
are equal with the other EU Member States in terms of
obligations but not rights. "As everyone else in our European
family, we are obligated to care for our common home, but can
not live freely in it. This is why we want to say that we are
not and have never been secondhand Europeans," the document
reads. According to the declaration Bulgaria's Schengen
accession is now a question of historical and moral justice.

PES leader Stanishev said during the opening that Bulgaria has
met the conditions for Schengen membership and this has been
clearly and categorically stated by the European Commission and
the European Parliament. There is no logic behind keeping
Bulgaria and Romania out of Schengen, he added. This is a matter
of justice and continuity - since the EU is a union of the
rules, when someone has met the conditions, there should be
reciprocity from the other side as well, Stanishev said. "This
is also a discussion about our self-esteem as a nation - about
what we are giving to the EU and what we are getting from our
European partners," he said, adding that "Bulgaria in Schengen"
is his personal cause.

Stanishev said that the efforts by institutions and politicians
alone will not be enough for achieving this national goal, which
is why it is very important that this cause is backed by all of
society.

Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva said that Bulgaria has
fulfilled its commitments and the law is on its side. According
to her, the Member States, mainly four of them, are delaying
this country's Schengen accession because of the public opinion
in them. "This public opinion must meet with the Bulgarian
public opinion, which we can present. We will succeed only when
it becomes obvious that our public opinion is united, that we
strongly desire to enter Schengen," Kuneva said. According to
her, the delay happened because Member States have not managed
to come up with other ways to make Bulgaria do its job regarding
the judicial system. "I am sure that now is not the time to use
Schengen as a stimulus, given the terrorism threats. However, I
am not denying that we must complete our reforms," Kuneva said,
adding that supporting the judicial reform strategy will bring
Bulgaria one step closer to Schengen.

The campaign started with a video presentation, which can be
seen in a few different languages.