Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said during hearings at the Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee in Sofia that October 1, 2023 is a date that could be ripe for Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, the Bulgarian press reports, News.ro reports.

Since the beginning of the year, the presidency of the EU has passed to Sweden, but the expansion of the Schengen area is not among the priorities presented by Stockholm. However, Sweden supports the expansion of the free movement zone, which was confirmed after the elections in this country, Minister Nikolai Milkov said. He told MPs that he had a conversation with Sweden’s ambassador to Bulgaria, and she told him that Sweden’s EU presidency only prioritizes those priorities that are a matter of consensus among EU members.

“He assured me that Sweden will continue to work on the expansion of the Schengen area, and the fact that it is not officially mentioned as a priority does not mean that Sweden will not support the development of the process of expanding the Schengen area,” the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said. Minister Mykola Milkov, quoted by the website of the BNR public radio station.

Sofia’s head of diplomacy also told the parliamentarians that with regard to the Netherlands, the second country that, along with Austria, opposed Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, it is still necessary to clarify “what exactly the Netherlands expects to see in the upcoming inspection.” report” so that the MFA will be ready to answer all questions during the inspection. “Electronic systems, consular activities, everything they check must be in line, but not from today, but from the date of our possible accession, which could be 1 October,” Mykola Milkov clarified.