On December 30, 2023, late in the evening, the Council of the European Union unanimously decided on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area with the abolition of internal air and sea border controls from March 31, 2024.
"Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen Area is a national priority and a commitment according to our Treaty of Accession to the European Union. I thank the governments that have worked to advance this priority. I would especially like to thank Boyko Borisov for his dedicated and consistent work on the subject, the parliamentary groups supporting the government, and the Bulgarian MEPs. My position on the subject and contribution to achieving this goal has been for more than 10 years - as a member of the European Parliament, of the European Commission, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs," said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Maria Gabriel on the occasion of the Council's decision .
She pointed out that Bulgaria shows daily its key role in protecting the external borders of the European Union and emphasized that our country has a strong border management system that further strengthens the security of the EU.
"Thank you to the team next to me for the difficult negotiations and overcoming the difficult, sometimes discouraging, moments. I appreciate our perfect coordination and convincing results with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Kalin Stoyanov, whom I will continue to rely on," said Gabriel.
"Thank you to the EU Member States, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the General Secretariat and the Legal Service of the Council. Thank you for working together also during these holidays to make progress on an important national priority for Bulgaria", said the Deputy Prime Minister.
"It is said in diplomacy that a good compromise is one in which both sides are not completely satisfied. I believe that negotiations driven by the protection of the national interest could not have had a different result. Let us make it so that, with mutual trust and common action, 2024 is driven by the common European interest. With the adoption of the current Decision of the Council of the EU, Bulgaria becomes a full member of the Schengen area with the gradual abolition of control at various types of borders - from the end of March 2024, control at air and sea borders will be abolished. In 2024, we will continue to work together for the subsequent abolition of land border controls," added Maria Gabriel. /BGNES
