Shengen zone and Bulgaria

Bulgaria joined in European Union as a member by 1st of January 2007. Since the membership, Bulgaria is also getting ready to enter the passport-free travel Schengen Zone. In 2011, European Parliament started the procedure for both Romania and Bulgaria. However, since then The European Council could not reach a unanimous decision on accepting both countries in the zone.

In the beginning of the process, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands and a few more countries were not satisfied with the achievements of both countries, especially in border protection. The recent years, all those countries have soften their rejections by observing the positive changes and results. By 2022, first Emanuel Macron, the president of France declared that Romania and Bulgaria are ready to join the Schengen Zone. After a few months, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his backing up to see Romania and Bulgaria in Schengen Zone.

In October, the European Parliament passed a new resolution piling pressure on politicians to approve the immediate admission of Bulgaria and Romania. The European Commission spokesman claimed that both countries are more than ready to be in the Schengen Zone.

 Even all the parameters are looking good, Dutch politicians are still holding their veto as they are not really satisfied with the fight against the corruption in Romania and Bulgaria. They voice out their worries about the border checks and the risk of security for all European Union. It looks like The Netherlands and its veto is the last border line to cross.

The Czech Presidency, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council and is tasked with steering debates, has made Schengen enlargement one of its top priorities. Both Romanian and Bulgarian citizens think that this long waiting out of the zone is unfair as they want the same rights with 22 other member countries, to become full member of European Union. As the clock is ticking: the next chance that Prague will have to put the long-stalled question to a vote will be on 9 December 2022, when justice and home affairs ministers are scheduled to meet. We will find the answer of the question - Is the long waiting for Schengen Zone ending for Bulgaria and Romania at the end of 2022?