Austria, which along with the Netherlands is blocking Bulgaria on its way to Schengen, has praised Bulgaria’s efforts to protect Europe’s external border, but there is no official word yet that Vienna may reconsider its position by the end of the year, as Bulgaria hopes. , Mediapool reports, citing Rador Radio Romania.

Austrian National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka visited the border with Turkey on Tuesday and publicly acknowledged that “Bulgaria fulfills its obligations regarding the Schengen acceptance criteria” and that his country’s veto is linked to the need to reform free movement.

“For this reason, I vetoed Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen zone, which, I want to emphasize directly, is not related to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria fulfills its obligations regarding the criteria for admission to the Schengen area. I personally had the opportunity to see this today at the Bulgarian-Turkish border,” said the president of the National Council of Austria, Wolfgang Sobotka, BTA quotes.

On Tuesday, he visited the Bulgarian-Turkish border at the invitation of the Speaker of the Parliament in Sofia, Rosen Zhelyazkov. Meanwhile, Dutch Migration Minister Erik van der Burgh told BNR, Sofia’s public radio station, that his country would insist on a mission to check how the rule of law is being implemented in Bulgaria before deciding whether to lift its veto. Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen.

“We still have to wait for information from the Commission. It is the Commission that must provide us with the correct information. It is about the rule of law, more precisely about its implementation and monitoring. We also insist on fact-finding missions. Then we can make a decision,” said Erik van der Burgh.

Austria: The right of veto does not apply to Bulgaria

Wolfgang Sobotka commented that since 2015 the Schengen area has not been working as it should, the same applies to the Dublin Agreement. “For this reason, we vetoed Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen zone, which, I want to emphasize directly, is not related to Bulgaria,” said Wolfgang Sobotka.

He expressed hope that the negotiations between the interior ministers will lead to a satisfactory solution for all states, so that the Schengen area can finally start working normally again. However, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer periodically confirms that Austria respects its right of veto.

Bulgaria has a very good self-esteem

“The Bulgarian state is doing a great job of countering illegal migration,” said the general secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Sofia, Zhivko Kotev, who participated in the border visit. He spoke of a significant increase of more than 75% in prosecutions for human trafficking, as well as a 30% increase in convictions.

Since the beginning of the year, 158,000 people have tried to illegally cross the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, Deputy Director of the Border Police Radoslav Kulekov told the Austrian guest.

However, it turned out again that 110 kilometers of the border are without video surveillance and cameras should be installed. Kulekov explained that from next year the border guard will also be carried out by drones. A project to cover 110 kilometers of the border with video cameras is also being prepared.

Reserves of Austria and the Netherlands

Austria deals with migrant issues, and the Netherlands deals with justice in Bulgaria. The situation has become even more complicated, as the Netherlands is governed by a caretaker government until the end of the year. Romania and Bulgaria hope to join Schengen by the end of the year, but Austria regularly confirms it will not change its position.