site.btaBIA President: Time Has Come for Bulgaria and Romania to Get Date for Full Schengen Membership

According to Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) President Dobri Mitrev, the time has come for the Schengen issue to be closed for Bulgaria and Romania and the two countries should be given a date for full membership of Schengen by land.

"More borders, less economic growth and tourism," he said on Tuesday during a discussion entitled "The cost of non-membership of Schengen for Single Market: Impact on Bulgaria and Romania", organized by the Bulgarian Industrial Association and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

Mitrev recalled that Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled the technical requirements for Schengen membership since 2011 according to the European Commission (EC). 

In his words, joining Schengen guarantees the four fundamental rights in the European Union (EU) - the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, because the area is directly linked to the single market of the Community. 

According to Calin Ile, vice-president of Concordia, BIA's sister organization, Concordia, Romania and Bulgaria's Schengen membership is not only about economic advantages, but also about the two countries taking their rightful place in the European family and finally bridging the East-West divide.

"Our admission by air is beneficial, but this does not exhaust our ambitions because Schengen gives a lot of prospects and I hope by the end of this year we will be admitted by land", he said. 

"It is not only about business development but also about competitiveness because every hour we wait at the borders slows down our competitiveness," Ile pointed out.

In his words, it is not only about Romania and Bulgaria, but about the whole EU. 

"Eastern Europe, Romania and Bulgaria play an extremely important role in terms of security and full Schengen membership will increase the capacity of both countries to respond adequately. The issue is not only economic, but also historical, and it has to do with overcoming the last remnants of division in our Union. We want a stronger economy in which Romania and Bulgaria are included as full partners", Ile said.