site.btaMEP Eva Maydell Expects Austria’s Commissioner-Designate to Clearly State Bulgaria's, Romania's Readiness for Full Schengen Membership

MEP Eva Maydell (GERB/European People's Party) expressed her expectation for Austria’s Commissioner-designate Magnus Brunner to clearly state Bulgaria and Romania's readiness to be fully accepted into Schengen. She was speaking Tuesday in an interview for BTA, a few hours before the confirmation hearing of the Austria's candidate for EU Commissioner of Internal Affairs and Migration.

"I expect the Austria’s Commissioner-designate to declare his readiness to work on this priority, Bulgaria's accession to Schengen", Maydell stressed.

Brunner's hearing is taking place on the same day as that of Bulgaria's candidate for EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, Ekaterina Zaharieva, who has already received greenlight by the European Parliament to take the position. 

According to Maydell, Zaharieva received support from the European Commission’s main coordinators and main political groups. “She was very convincing and the hearing was constructive. Zaharieva presented her vision, was concrete, gave clear political answers and made very specific commitments. This is what MEPs want to hear, that is why they are satisfied and that is why we have approved her candidacy", Maydell said.

The Bulgarian MEP defined Zaharieva's portfolio as “a portfolio of the future”.

In Maydell’s words, innovation can strengthen the modernization of Bulgarian economy. “We need to make sure that start-ups that have new, innovative ideas are connected to industry and make our economies work faster, boosting the country’s economic growth. It may sound easy to some extent, but it is a very complex exercise," the MEP added.