A joint delegation from the Netherlands and Austria will assess Bulgaria’s compliance with the requirements for admission to the EU’s Schengen Zone in September of this year. Following consultations with the European Commissioner for the Interior, Ylva Johansson, and the Dutch Minister of Migration, Eric van der Burgh, the Bulgarian Minister of Internal Affairs, Kalin Stoyanov, disclosed this information.

Bulgaria has met all requirements to join the Schengen Area, although in December of the previous year, both Austria and the Netherlands opposed to it, citing worries about illegal immigration. Bulgaria has since satisfied all requirements, though.

The interior minister of Bulgaria also provided specifics regarding the actions Bulgaria had taken to address the rule of law report recommendations. He highlighted how crucial it is for Bulgaria to get the Netherlands’ blessing.

The Dutch Minister of Migration admitted that, despite the caretaker nature of their administration, there are expectations that it would be given the authority to deal with issues on the European agenda, especially those pertaining to Schengen.

Minister van der Burgh stated that both Bulgaria and the European Commission, which will oversee the coordination, shared the wish for a mission to be conducted there.

According to a recent Politico story, it seems unlikely that Bulgaria’s Schengen Zone membership will be completed quickly because of the caretaker government scenario in the Netherlands.

The approval of a governance program with a focus on joining the eurozone by January 1, 2025, and joining the Schengen Area by the end of the year was announced by the Bulgarian cabinet last month.

Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, informed the European Parliament in July that the Spanish Presidency and the European Commission had stepped up their efforts to make it possible for Bulgaria to join the Schengen Zone by the end of the year.

The European Union Council should take this seriously and allow both countries to join the Schengen Area before the year is up, according to a recent resolution adopted by the European Union Parliament.

Although Bulgaria has been declared to have fulfilled all requirements since 2011, the European Commission has not yet officially approved the country’s entry into the Schengen Area.