site.btaNetherlands to Decide on Schengen Enlargement Based on EC's Fact-Finding Mission to Bulgaria

Netherlands wants to see all the information from the European Commission’s recent fact-finding mission to Bulgaria before it decides on Schengen enlargement, Minister for Migration Eric van der Burg said after a meeting of the EU home affairs ministers in Brussels Tuesday. 

He explained that Romania wasn’t an issue for the Netherlands but because of the border between Romania and Bulgaria, it is important what his country would decide about Bulgaria. “We now have heard from the EC that they have a lot of information because of their fact-finding mission that took place a week ago, and we said to Bulgaria and to our colleagues, Give us all that information and we will see. First, we will have to see all the information so we can see that Bulgaria has done all the things it had to do, then we are going to decide when is the moment for Bulgaria to join in.”

He said he was neither optimistic nor pessimistic. “First we want to see all the information. The fact-finding mission has taken place and now it is up to the commission to give us all the information. I cannot say how long it will take because we don’t know what the information will be.”

He said that his country appreciates all the work that has been done by Bulgaria.