The Parliamentary committee on foreign affairs adopted a draft declaration on Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area. The text was put forward by BSP for Bulgaria and was backed by 13 votes with two MPs voting "against".
The declaration says that this country started working towards Schengen accession in 2008 and in 2011 it was recognised that it was ready to fully apply the Schengen acquis. For various reasons its accession - together with that of Romania - has been delayed for more than 10 years now.
Currently, Bulgaria practically implements fully the Schengen acquis, except for the issue of Schengen visas, which only member states can do. Since 2010, Bulgaria has been connected to the Schengen information system and exchanging information in it, and the latest functionality of the system - the alerts for refusal of entry of third-country nationals - has been in use since August 1, 2018. There is excellent police cooperation with Schengen partners. Despite the fact that Bulgaria is not yet a full member of Schengen, it shares the responsibilities for ensuring the proper functioning of the Schengen area and contributes to the high level of security of European citizens, the declaration reads.
The text also points out that all preconditions are in place for Bulgaria to become part of the Schengen area from the beginning of 2023 with a single act covering all borders - land, air and sea, which would have the immediate tangible effect of easing transport links for the entire EU and especially crossing the border with Greece and Romania.
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