Bulgaria soon to become member of the Schengen area
On Bulgaria’s current status in Europe
EU Member State since 2007, Bulgaria is legally bound to join the Schengen Area by the Treaty of Accession. Nevertheless, the process of meeting the requirements and being approved for accessing the European border-free area is still ongoing.
Becoming part of the Schengen Area is both a priority and an obligation to Bulgaria. Over recent years, the Bulgarian government has worked hard to reach the standards required of Schengen member states.
When evaluating a Schengen Membership Candidacy, The European Commission evaluates several criteria. These criteria include:
- Infrastructure and organisation
- Personal data protection
- Border control legislation
- Police cooperation
The Bulgarian government has been working hard to meet such high standards and ultimately gain the trust of its European partners. Prime Minister Kiril Petkov recently stated:
“Now we have to build and show confidence. The new Bulgarian government will show that it is doing what it promises”.
Such efforts seem to be moving in the right direction since a double confirmation on Bulgaria’s Schengen Membership advancement has been released both on the National and on the European side.
The European Parliament has indeed confirmed that Bulgaria now meets the key EU indicators, while according to the local government, Bulgaria is now fully prepared to join the borderless Schengen Area.
A date has not yet been established but Bulgaria seems to ready to take its final few steps leading towards the induction in the Schengen Area.
The Schengen membership process also means that Bulgaria will join the shared ETIAS visa waiver program for the Area, expected to come into effect by the end of 2023.
Bulgaria and Schengen: a summary of key developments
This is a list of some of the most important events of that marked the Bulgaria-Schengen relationship since the Eastern European State became Member of the EU:
- October 2010 — Bulgaria joined SIS II database systems for law enforcement cooperation.
- June 2011 — Bulgaria’s bid to join the Schengen Area was approved by the European Parliament but blocked by the Council of Ministers. Some countries had ongoing concerns about corruption and organized crime.
- August 2018 — Bulgaria gains full access to the Schengen Information System.
- December 2018 — the European Parliament voted to accept Bulgaria into the Schengen zone.
Bulgaria is, therefore, almost ready to join the borderless Schengen zone and enjoy the benefits of free movement.
Several steps have although already been taken in this direction. For instance:
- EU and Schengen Citizens can all enter Bulgaria without the requirement for a visa.
- Holders of a valid Schengen visa of any type can enter Bulgaria visa-free as well.
- Bulgarian citizens can travel to any of the Schengen States without being required for a visa.
Bulgaria will join the ETIAS visa waiver program for the Schengen Area, expected to come into effect by the end of 2023, since its very inauguration even in the case ETIAS will be launched prior to its induction to the Schengen Area.
However, Bulgaria does not yet issue Schengen visas. It issues national visas only which cannot be used to travel to Schengen countries.
Other visa-free agreements with Bulgaria
A similar situation with Bulgaria is ongoing with 2 more nations that are already Members of the European Union but are yet to become part of the Schengen Area. Such States are Romania and Cyprus.
As a matter of fact, the national visas issued by such 3 Nations also do not yet interact with the Schengen system.
Still, holders of visas and residence permits issued by Romania and Cyprus can stay in Bulgaria without a visa for up to 3 months.
Likewise Bulgarian visas can also be used to enter Romania or Cyprus.
Why is Schengen membership so important?
The Schengen Area is made up of 22 European Union states, as well as the 4 non-EU states of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Iceland, between which border-free travel is allowed.
Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 alongside Romania, and in 2011 the European Parliament gave the green light for both countries to join the Schengen area. However, since then there has been much disagreement about whether Bulgaria actually meets the technical and infrastructural requirements to join Schengen.
The official debate is still ongoing and, up to this day, Schengen regulations only partially apply to Bulgaria and Romania, since border controls are still carried out at the borders with the two countries.
Schengen Membership is equally important to Bulgaria and to Common European Institutions.
On the European side, in the last few years particularly, there has been indeed an increasing sense of urgency for the pending candidate countries to fully join the Schengen Area, as the European Parliament believes that expediting their inclusion will help to further strengthen Europe’s external borders.
On the Bulgarian side political and social pressure comes from the general awareness surrounding the freedom of movement, security and economic advantages that would derive from becoming part of Schengen Area.
Most recent statements on the matter
While on an official visit in Bucharest in November 2018, the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, expressed his wish to expedite the entry process to Schengen for Bulgaria and Romania.
The same month, the European People’s Party presidential candidate for the European Commission, Manfred Weber, stated that Bulgaria would at least partially enter the Schengen Area in 2019. That goal has not been met.
Later on, Weber expressed his doubts that Romania will become a Schengen country in 2021 alongside Bulgaria, as previously expected. Although it has met the border security technical requirements for Schengen, the latest European Commission report criticized Romania for not doing enough to solve corruption problems in the country. However, the same report praised the progress that Bulgaria had made to meet the technical criteria for Schengen.
Still, in December 2018, the European Parliament voted in favor of accepting both countries, requiring the Council of the European Union to “act swiftly” on the matter.
Even though a date has not been established the situation suggests that Bulgaria could be allowed into the Schengen Area in the very near future.
More about Bulgaria and European institutions
Bulgaria became part of the European Union in 2007 and since than its elected representatives became active part of all the European Key Institutions.
For instance, there are currently 17 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from Bulgaria. Representatives from the Bulgarian government regularly attend European Council meetings to discuss EU policy.
Bulgaria also has 12 representatives in the European Economic and Social Committee. This advisory body – representing employers, workers and other interest groups – is consulted on proposed laws, to get a better idea of the possible changes to work and social situations in member countries.
Moreover Bulgaria has 12 representatives in the European Committee of the Regions, the EU’s assembly of regional and local representatives. This advisory body is consulted on proposed laws, to ensure these laws take account of the perspective from each region of the EU.
Being present in all EU’s decision-making bodies its than clear that Bulgaria too has been part of the process, started in 2016, that will lead towards the creation of Europe’s Visa Waiver, ETIAS, starting from 2023.
Bulgaria and common European currency
Bulgaria has yet to adopt the Euro currency. However, Bulgaria has confirmed that it will adopt the EU common currency. Bulgarian National Bank Governor Dimitar Radev stated that the country should be able to meet the Maastricht criteria for euro convergence in 2023 or 2024. Until than Bulgaria will keep using its national currency known as Lev (international standard code BGN)
