It is realistic that at least one year will pass since we are admitted to Schengen by air and by sea and the integration of our land borders. This opinion was expressed to Iskra.bg by Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Milen Keremedchiev. Therefore, March 2025 is realistic for Bulgaria to enter Schengen by land as well.
According to Keremedchiev, there is no option in which our country does not enter the space for free movement by air and sea in March 2024. Such speculations have emerged as there is still no official decision by the Austrian government on the matter. However, the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs believes that this will happen.
„In my opinion, there is an agreement between the three countries, first. And besides, Austria has repeatedly stated that this will be its policy – to admit Bulgaria and Romania by air and water as the first stage, and negotiations for the second stage. That is to say, Austria has not changed its position. It has expressed it officially, so it is a technical question – when the Austrian government will come out with a statement It is not the responsibility of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior to come out with such a position. Rather, the chancellor of Austria should officially announce it and this would be in the coming days,“, Keremedchiev also pointed out.
He emphasized that there is no partial Schengen membership. On the contrary. It is phased. That is, from March 2024, Bulgaria and Romania will not be candidate countries for membership, but will be member countries. They will have fulfilled the first stage of entry into the Schengen area. This is not a precedent. 26 years ago, Austria itself entered the same way – first by its air borders, then by its land borders. The last country to enter in two stages is Slovakia.
„The only difference between then and now is that then the period between the first stage and full Schengen membership was about 4-5 months. Whereas for us the main danger is that entry with our land borders currently stands with an unclear date , which should be the main task of the next negotiations,“, he further explained. He then added:
„The good part is that Bulgaria and Romania will now sit at the negotiating table with the other member countries of the Schengen area as members and will be able to negotiate as member countries, not as candidates. This will mean that we will have a much greater opportunity to show how the external borders of the European Union and Schengen are protected to our partners, and not to do it by knocking on a closed door.“
Keremedchiev recalled that Austria set three conditions for entering Schengen by land borders. The first was to triple the presence of Frontex at the external borders of the European Union. In addition, a continuous fence should be built on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, as well as the acceptance of more migrants. The first option is the migrants who registered in Bulgaria and Romania. According to the former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, it will be pointless to return these people from Austria to our country and our northern neighbor, because they will again be able to travel to Western and Central Europe.
The second issue is when it comes to illegal migrants who have registered for the first time directly in Austria.
„Austria wants to return them again to Bulgaria and Romania, but it has to prove that they actually passed through our territory, but this is very difficult only with the explanations of one or another migrant. This is a topic for negotiations, but it concerns the second stage – that is, the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area and by land. For the first, the only condition that Austria had set was to send its representatives to Bulgaria and Romania to help start the procedures at the airports, for the management of the Schengen and the non-Schengen flow of passengers,“, Keremedchiev also pointed out.
