site.btaUPDATED Dutch Government Has Approved Bulgaria's Schengen Accession, PM Glavchev Says

The government of the Netherlands has given its approval for Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said at the beginning of Wednesday's Council of Ministers meeting.

"My Dutch counterpart just called me and said that the Dutch government has agreed to Bulgaria's Schengen accession. The next step is a procedure in their parliament. Even if their Parliament does not agree, which is unlikely, the government there may still proceed. Step by step, we are moving closer to December 12, Glavchev said.

The date for the lifting of checks on persons at the internal land border with and between Bulgaria and Romania is expected to be set at the EU’s Home Affairs Council meeting on December 12.

Glavchev recalled that he had recently visited three border crossing points – the Kulata checkpoint and the Danube Bridge checkpoints at Ruse and Vidin - to discuss the necessary changes to the borders with Romania and Greece. "The infrastructure should be adapted to the new circumstances, in case we are accepted," Glavchev said.

A task force led by caretaker Interior Minister Atanas Ilkov and Regional Development and Public Works Minister Violeta Koritarova has been established, the Prime Minister recalled.

"We believe that we will be ready on January 1 for the new passage system. There will still be controls at the Bulgarian-Romanian border, but they will not be in their current form. This will also apply to the Romanian-Hungarian border for six months, so it is not exclusive to Bulgaria. The idea is to monitor security, both for the countries involved in this control framework and for the entire European Union. While there are many benefits, security is also important," Glavchev said.

He cited calculations from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which estimate that Bulgaria’s Schengen accession could bring some BGN 1.6 billion in annual benefits across all sectors.

Glavchev also recalled that on December 1, when the new European Commission (EC) took office, he had a phone conversation with President Ursula von der Leyen. He noted that the EC President had congratulated Bulgaria on the nomination of Ekaterina Zaharieva as the country’s EU Commissioner.