At a news briefing Friday where he summed up his team's work on its priorities, caretaker Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov outlined the steps that remain to be taken before Bulgaria joins the Schengen area and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Entry in Schengen and OECD was a priority for the Foreign Ministry along with the preparation of voting abroad in the October 2 snap general elections and Bulgaria's participation in the work of the EU and NATO.
It transpired from the Minister's words that a two-day check for Schengen compliance by representatives of the European Commission and member states, ended Thursday evening. They have not given any official feed-back to the Bulgarian authorities and none is expected, said Milkov. Those who were checked, believe that it went well, said the Minister. Next, the European Parliament is expected to adopt a resolution on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen at its next session between October 17 and 20.
As for the efforts towards entry in the OECD, the Foreign Ministry's work has been focused on the preparation of the initial memorandum. It is a self-assessment document where the country declares its positions, readiness, degree of compliance with the legal instruments of the organization so as to be able to join all of them, Milkov explained.
He also said that an important recognition for this country is the Bulgarian chairmanship of the UN Economic and Social Council (between July 2022 and July 2023). Bulgaria has already optimized the work of the organization to enhance sustainable decisions and accomplishment of the goals for sustainable development until 2030.
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