Minister of Interior Tsvetanov says Bulgarian borders are some of the best protected in EU
Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov is an optimist that Bulgaria will be soon welcomed in the Schengen area. During a meeting with representatives of the US Chamber of Commerce, Minister Tsvetanov pointed out that joining the area was not a privilege but a challenge and responsibility. The Minister reiterated that the Bulgarian outer EU border was one of the best protected in the bloc and that Bulgaria fully met the Schengen requirements in March 2011.
Minister Tsvetanov pointed out the good cooperation of Bulgarian authorities with the Frontex Agency in protecting the EU outer borders. As part of the joint work currently 5 Bulgarian policemen with armored vehicles guard the Polish-Ukrainian border during the ongoing European Football Championship. The government has already started implementing measures for fighting organised crime and corruption. In order to facilitate border control, electronic gates, scanning the biometric date in passports, will be installed at border checkpoints. Using the electronic gates will be voluntary. The first electronic gates will be installed at the Sofia Airport, Minister Tsvetanov announced.
“The project was financed under EU programmes. Bulgaria will have some of the most modern checkpoints in Europe. Our first aim is to see if citizens would like to use the new system, which provides great security.”
Some Bulgarian MPs recently said that Bulgaria must put off entering the Schengen Area, due to the fact that EU Ministers of Interior decided to temporary restore border control at internal borders.
The Council of EU Interior Ministers made that decision but it must be discussed and adopted by the EP. The Council did not aim to put barriers to the free movement of people but in the past 2 years some measures had to be taken due to increased migration. The wave of immigrants to Italy after the Arab Spring moved freely to Austria, Germany, France and that is why discussions on the issue started. Still, agreement about the future of Schengen must be reached in the EP.” The Minister concluded.
Text and photo: bnr.bg
(21.06.2012)