12.12.2024
Today what has been looked forward for years is a fact. Bulgaria’s full Schengen membership is a historic event. This was stated by Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev at the opening of today’s working meeting in the Council of Ministers building. The Prime Minister emphasized the dedicated work of the caretaker government to that effect and the efforts of previous governments. It is the final result that is important, Mr. Glavchev noted.
The Prime Minister noted the plenty of economic benefits to citizens, businesses and investors to be reaped from Bulgaria’s full membership in the Schengen area. In the estimates of economists, the financial effect for the country amounts to over BGN 1.6 billion per year. In addition, there will be hundreds of thousands of hours saved and a significant reduction of the amount of carbon emissions per year as part of the effects of the shorter waiting time at the borders.
Today’s meeting of Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev heard a report on the progress of the reorganization of the modus operandi at the borders with Romania and Greece. The joint teams of the Ministry of Interior, the Customs Agency, the Road Infrastructure Agency and the National Revenue Agency vigorously interact; measures to be taken at local level have been mapped out. A discussion is under way to change road surface markings and road signals where necessary. Efforts are made to have all four traffic lanes at Kulata border-crossing checkpoint operational by the end of the year.
It was emphasized at the meeting that from 1 January on, the borders will not remain uncontrolled, as it is a responsibility of the government to guard them. The modus operandi will change following the principle of “risk analysis”; random checks will be made whose main goal will be to counteract illegal migration. It was reported that currently migration pressure is not seen as increasing.
