site.btaPresidents Radev, Iohannis Discuss Joint Efforts for Schengen Accession

Presidents Rumen Radev of Bulgaria and Klaus Iohannis of Romania discussed on the telephone their countries' joint efforts towards Schengen accession, Radev's press secretariat said on Thursday. They concurred that the two countries meet the accession criteria and that the repeated affirmation of their readiness for membership by the EU institutions and most EU Member States should lead to concrete decisions.

During the conversation, Radev and Iohannis confirmed their countries' ambitions to continue working towards expanding bilateral connectivity by further deepening economic, trade, tourism, transport and energy cooperation. Romania is Bulgaria's second largest EU trading partner. There is a steady upward trend in trade contacts and a considerable increase in two-way trade, which totalled nearly EUR 6.5 billion in 2021, the press release said.