Bulgaria aims to enter Schengen by end of 2014

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin has expressed hopes that the issue of Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen will be resolved by end-2014.

Vigenin, as cited by the BGNES news agency, told journalists Friday that no decision on Bulgaria’s Schengen bid was expected by the end of Greece’s six-month EU Council Presidency (July 2014), adding that it would hopefully be in place by the end of the year.

Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister assured that the efforts of the authorities to achieve this goal continued, stressing that the upcoming European Parliament elections in May meant that it was not really the most appropriate moment to bring up the issue.

Vigenin argued that it had not been obligatory for Bulgaria to take part in the Geneva-2 Conference held on January 22 – 31, 2014.