site.btaHungarian Interior Minister Expresses Full Support for Bulgaria's Schengen Entry

Hungarian Interior Minister Expresses Full Support for Bulgaria's Schengen Entry

Budapest/Sofia, June 19 (BTA) - Hungary fully supports Bulgaria's bid to join the Schengen border-free area, Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said on Monday. Pinter talked with his Bulgarian counterpart Valentin Radev in Budapest, Radev's ministry reported.

The working meeting between the two ministers took place in the sidelines of a Salzburg Forum Ministerial Conference.

Pinter recalled that Budapest has stood behind Sofia in its drive to accede to Schengen ever since 2011. He noted that even if Bulgaria is not admitted to the area, the country should still receive full access to the visa system, which will enable it to filter persons prosecuted for terrorism. This also requires speeding up the sharing of information, he said.

Radev and Pinter gave high marks for the cooperation between their ministries. The Hungarian Interior Minister thanked Bulgaria for its assistance in a 2015 case in which 71 migrants were found dead in a truck abandoned in Austria near the Hungarian border. Several Bulgarians were charged in the case.