site.btaBulgaria Won't Be Admitted into Schengen until After Austrian Parliamentary Elections in 2024, Says MEP Andrey Kovatchev

Andrey Kovatchev MEP (European People's Party/GERB) told journalists here Tuesday that he does not believe Bulgaria will join Schengen until the parliamentary elections in Austria in 2024 are over.

In his words, until last November Austria had no problem with Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, but after a statement by their interior minister, the situation has changed.

"Their interior minister decided that this issue could give them a few percent more to boost their results in the local elections," Kovatchev explained, adding that after that there was no way the issue could be dropped. 

Regarding the position of the Netherlands, which is also vetoing Bulgaria's accession to the border-free area, Kovatchev said that it has nothing to do with Schengen, as the main reason they give is that they have many Bulgarian citizens who abuse the country's social system.

According to the MEP, Romania is unlikely to be separated from Bulgaria for Schengen, as this would require the creation of an external border of the Union along the Danube.