site.btaUPDATED FM Gabriel Reiterates that Bulgaria Has Met Technical Criteria for Schengen Accession

Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman is on an official visit to Sofia Monday at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Gabriel. This is the first official visit to Bulgaria by a foreign minister after the formation of the new Bulgarian government. 

"Bulgaria has met all the technical criteria for Schengen entry and we expect the support of our European partners by the end of this year," Foreign Minister Gabriel said at a news briefing held jointly with the guest. 

Cooperation between Bulgaria and Croatia within the EU and NATO, Bulgatria's aspirations to join the Schengen area and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the war in Ukraine and other important international issues are on the agenda of talks.

"Bulgaria has met all the technical criteria for Schengen entry and we expect the support of our European partners by the end of this year," Foreign Minister Gabriel said at a news briefing held jointly with the guest. 

She said that a decision is expected by the end of the year because there is a EU Council in October and December, and it can be taken there. Gabriel said that when reporters asked he whether the end of the year remains as a target for Bulgaria's Schengen accession. 

Austria and the Netherlands are the only countries that are opposed to Bulgaria's Schengen membership.

Gabriel said they needed to be persuaded to change their position.

She argued that this country's accession to Schengen will help address issues such as those concerning illgal migration, that Austria raises. She said that Schengen admission for Bulgaria and Romania will contribute to the free movement of people, goods and services.

She also said that the her Croatian counterpart and herself reviewed bilateral relations. "We discussed the possibilities to intensify and broaden them", she said. 

Special attention was paid to cooperation in economy, energy and education, as well as on how the two countries can cooperate in responding to the challenges of digitization and the green transition, Gabriel said. She added that "there is also a very strong focus on supporting Ukraine".

Sincere support from Croatia

Bulgaria will have sincere support from Croatia for its accession to Schengen, as well as a partner who is ready to share its experience, Garlic Radman said at the joint briefing. 

"Today's talks confirmed our close positions and on many issues we have similar interests," he said. The two countries also share the common goal of joining the OECD, and there is agreement that there should be mutual support and exchange of experiences," he added.

He said that the Western Balkans space should be kept on the EU's radar. Enlargement of the EU and a proactive position by the EU are key to ensuring security and stability in the Western Balkans. All countries that want to become members should have a European perspective, but they should fulfil the criteria, the rule of law, good neighbourly relations and a foreign policy consistent with the common EU policy, Radman said.

he argued that every country in the Western Balkans that wants to become a EU member should respect the EU principles and its values when it comes to condemning the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Radman said, adding that all countries should support sanctions against Russia.

"We hope that negotiations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU will start at the end of this year or early next year," Radman added. Also, Croatia strongly supports the European path of the Republic of North Macedonia and believes that the change of its Constitution will allow progress of EU accession talks.