Bulgaria’s ambassador to the EU Boyko Kotsev: the country met all technical requirements to join Schengen

The country met all technical requirements to join the Schengen Area, Bulgaria’s ambassador to the EU Boyko Kotsev told Bulgarian National Radio on Monday (April 4th). In late February, the Hungarian EU presidency said Bulgaria had closed all but one of the evaluated areas of the Schengen acquis. The presidency praised the authorities’ efforts, but the European Commission (EC) still urged more steps to strengthen security on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Kotsev says the working group following the issue will likely approve the report by early May, after which the EC will re-assess Bulgaria’s and Romania’s readiness to join the border-free zone.