Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev agreed on a visit by Nehammer and his Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, to the Bulgarian border on January 23, the Austrian press agency APA writes, citing News.ro.

Austria’s veto against Romania and Bulgaria joining the Schengen area has sparked discontent in both countries, and Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer is now apparently trying to mend a broken China, Austrian newspaper Die Presse reports, noting that Bulgarian President Rumen Radev was Nehammer’s guest at a New Year’s concert in Vienna

After talks on Sunday, the two officials wanted to “work closely together to strengthen the protection of the EU’s external borders,” Chancellor Karl Nehammer said after the meeting.

• Read also: Chancellor of Austria Karl Nehammer on New Year’s Eve with the president of Bulgaria, the country that Austria blocked from entering Schengen

The large number of asylum seekers was the Austrian argument for the veto expressed in connection with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen. However, the fact that a large part of the asylum seekers would have arrived through Bulgaria is denied. Bulgaria then claimed that the Austrian veto was motivated by domestic politics, the Austrian press recalls.

Currently, Chancellor Nehammer wants to support Bulgaria to get more help from the EU to protect its external borders. On the one hand, this would mean European funding for the construction of a fence between Bulgaria and Turkey, and on the other hand, an increase in Frontex’s capabilities in this region, APA reports.

We will remind you that on December 8, 2022, at the meeting of the Council for Justice and Internal Affairs (JAI) of the EU, Austria blocked the access of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen zone.

• Read also: The Chancellor of Austria wants a fence on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey: Let’s finally break the fence taboo / What the President of Bulgaria says