site.btaPrime Minister Petkov Comments on Bulgaria's Prospects for Entering Schengen Area

On Friday, during the two-day summit of European Union and African Union leaders in Brussels, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov told journalists that for the time being, Bulgaria is still not trusted regarding the matter of its joining the Schengen Area.

Petkov said that he discussed the topic with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The problem is that over the years Bulgaria has failed to follow up on many of the promises that it made, explained the Prime Minister, adding: ''We lied, so there is no trust''. ''They would extend their hand, but everyone knows the story of the boy who cried wolf, so from here on out, what matters most is to show that the new Bulgarian government keeps its promises,” he added.

Petkov explained that Bulgaria must earn its trust. Up until now this country has only covered the criteria nominally, now it has to cover them effectively. Contraband across its borders needs to be stopped and actual control needs to be enforced, Petkov said, adding that his government must show results after it was given the benefit of the doubt.

During the summit, Petkov met with the leaders of Germany, France, Egypt, and Rwanda to discuss matters regarding economic partnership.

His talk with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz focused on building highways in Bulgaria. “We talked about German engineers, about Bulgarian highways. As you know, Germany has some of the best highways in the world. We must use their quality and transfer it to Bulgaria,” the Prime Minister told journalists. He and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed nuclear energy and upgrading the Bulgarian railways. “We will try to have meetings with the German and French governments as soon as possible, to try and build up on this good start,” said Petkov.

Petkov and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi talked about selling Bulgarian weapons to Egypt and supplying Bulgaria with Egyptian gas. Petkov promised that for the first time Egypt can rely on this country, skipping the middlemen and selling products directly, especially in the defence industry. “I am only interested in state and privately-owned defence companies doing good business, under the best possible conditions and not avoid stuffing the pockets of some middlemen,” the Prime Minister said.

He is planning to invite the Egyptian government to Bulgaria. Egypt should be able to confirm how much of the Bulgarian production interests them, Petkov said, adding that the African country promised to sell Bulgaria liquefied gas. The PM also met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame who encouraged him to aim at the “big fish” while trying to tackle corruption.

Later он Friday, Petkov is going to Germany to take part in the Munich Security Conference, said the Council of Ministers Press Secretariat. State leaders, ministers, heads of international organizations (UN, NATO, EU, among others) from over 30 countries will attend the 58th edition of the forum. Secretary-General of the UN Antonio Guterres will open the event. The agenda will include global threats such as the ongoing pandemic and the climate crisis. The leaders will also discuss defending democracy, regulations on technology, regional challenges and the situations in some of the world’s conflict zones. PM Petkov will have a series of bilateral meetings during the summit.