Tensions have escalated in Sofia following reports of a Austria could gradually withdaw its veto on Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen Area, allowing changes in its policy on air borders.
“I can imagine changes at the airport level for Bulgaria and Romania,” Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner admitted.
However, he emphasised the necessity of certain “conditions”, including strengthening the protection of the EU’s external borders, intensifying checks at land borders, and ensuring better management of asylum seekers.
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Local media highlighted that, with this latest condition, Karner appears to be requesting that Bulgaria accept Afghan and Syrian migrants expelled from Austria.
“Bulgaria should join the Schengen area in full, including at land and maritime borders, as it has fulfilled all necessary requirements,” Bulgarian Parliament President Rossen Zhelyazkov claimed.
He added: “An EU country like Austria cannot afford to impose conditions without the mandate of the EU Commission or all EU countries, conditions that go beyond the adherence criteria for Schengen.”
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Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov described Karner’s words as “a step in the right direction”. However, he clarified: “We will not accept any special conditions to enter the Schengen space.”
In response to the unfolding situation, Korneila Ninova, leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), the main opposition party, expressed her dissatisfaction. “They are throwing crumbs at us; it is a disdainful and humiliating attitude towards Bulgaria, which is a fully-fledged EU member,” Ninova told journalists earlier this week.
As the discussions continue, the outcome remains uncertain, and the implications for Bulgaria’s European integration hang in the balance.
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