During a visit to Sofia on Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, called it “shameful” that Bulgaria “is not yet a member of the Schengen zone”, reports the MTI agency. He charged that “Brussels’ lack of support for real border protection is unacceptable and very dangerous for the security of the European Union.”

At a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Nikolay Milkov, Szijártó said that Hungary will not accept “double standards, when clear and objective requirements written in documents are replaced by subjective criteria.” Bulgaria meets the criteria, so it deserves to be a member of the Schengen zone, the Hungarian minister said.

Regarding illegal migration, Peter Szijjarto said that the Western Balkans is currently the most congested migration route on the continent, and “due to Brussels’ migration policy, Central European countries must make serious efforts” to stop this phenomenon.

• “Bulgaria and Hungary are working beyond their powers. Bulgaria and Hungary built fences on the border. Both Bulgaria and Hungary are investing huge human resources to stop illegal migration.
• We believe that the lack of support from Brussels for real border protection is unacceptable and very dangerous for the future security of the European Union, it does not offer any support for the operation, protection and maintenance of the border protection infrastructure,” the head of diplomacy of Hungary emphasized

He emphasized that the countries of the region, located on the external borders of the EU, know exactly that migration must be stopped, not managed.

“It requires limitations and clear expression, and we, Hungarians and Bulgarians, have fulfilled much more expectations in this regard,” emphasized the Hungarian minister, who called it “shameful” that Bulgaria has not yet been accepted into Schengen. oblast, reports hirado.hu.

Romania and Bulgaria did not enter Schengen after Austria managed to block our country at the JAI Council on December 8, and the Netherlands opposed Bulgaria’s entry. At the same time, Croatia received the green light to join Schengen from January 1, 2023.

During a visit to Bucharest on December 17, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated his “friends from Romania” on the country’s development and said that this development justifies joining Schengen.

Orbán said that “the wrong decision regarding Schengen must be corrected.” “I want to assure my friends in Romania that they can count on our support,” he emphasized.

And Hungary’s Justice Minister Varga Yudit said on January 7 in Hargit that Romania would deserve to join Schengen because it “does an extraordinary job” in terms of border protection.