European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson expressed expectation that the internal Schengen land borders of Bulgaria and Romania will be abolished by the end of the year.
Today, Johansson is participating in the two-day meeting of the EU Council on Justice and Home Affairs, which is taking place in Luxembourg.
"Bulgaria and Romania are already part of Schengen. All that remains is to remove internal border controls. I predict that this will happen this year," Johansson told journalists.
The European Commissioner visited Bulgaria in April. She pointed out that Bulgaria and Romania are better prepared than other countries to fully implement Schengen rules. "The EU's external borders are very well guarded. I see that there is very good cooperation between Bulgaria and Romania with third countries, for example with Turkey there is very good police cooperation," said Johansson at the time.
According to her, Bulgaria and Romania are doing better than other member states, thanks to their efforts, which she described as "impressive". "For the Commission, and for me personally, it is extremely important that Bulgaria and Romania become full members of the Schengen area and that this becomes the next decision of the Council and while I am still in the post of European Commissioner," emphasized Johansson. | BGNES
