site.btaPM Comments on Schengen Entry, Meetings at Granada Summit, North Macedonia

Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov on Thursday joined the leaders of more than 40 countries for the European Political Community summit in Granada.

"At the discussions I had today, including a brief session with the Prime Minister of The Netherlands, it was clear that if we do what we expect until the end of the year, we will have strong support," Denkov said in a BTA interview, asked whether he is still optimistic that Bulgaria will be admitted to the Schengen area before the end of 2023 despite continuing opposition from The Hague and Vienna. "We must simply cope with mistrust, probably mostly on the part of Austria. That's why we are addressing the migration issue," the PM specified.

About his talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Wednesday evening, Denkov said that "Chancellor Scholz cannot possibly say when [the Schengen accession will go through]. "He was nevertheless very categorical. For the first time I hear them say in so many words that they not only support us but will work to secure support for us from the rest. This was emphasized in very clear terms."

Replying to a question, Denkov said that work on the Bulgaria-Turkiye border protection project is in progress and additional equipment is installed at the border literally on a weekly basis. "Things are expected soon, like the purchase of a large number of all-terrain vehicles. We still have problems in certain sectors, especially after the heavy rains, and they must be repaired with the least possible delay."

The Prime Minister told BTA that in Granada there had been "important meetings with the Prime Minister of Britain, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with European Council President Charles Michel and with some other prime ministers. We invariably focus on enlargement and support for Schengen."

"It was important for us to discuss an open issue with Britain: it turned out that migrants transiting Bulgaria then board small boats which cross [the Channel] from France to Britain, and migrants die in the process. [British] Prime Minister [Rishi] Sunak expressed full support for our external priorities. We talked about British support for Bulgaria's bid to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Their opinion in this respect is very important," the Bulgarian head of government said in his interview.

The BTA correspondent asked the PM whether North Macedonia is making progress towards EU integration and whether that the tone has calmed down and tensions between Sofia and Skopje have eased, at least on the face of it, and if so, why. "For our part, the tone is calm. The opposition in North Macedonia is apparently trying to whip up tensions. North Macedonia is expected to honour the commitment it assumed last year. Since nothing else is expected from them at this point, we simply have made it clear that until they adopt it our position will not change. If they revise the Constitution, this will open the door for them," Denkov said. He was referring to Sofia's insistence on the inclusion of Bulgarians in North Macedonia's Constitution as a precondition for lifting its veto on the start of EU accession talks with Skopje.