Today, what has been expected for years has become a fact. Bulgaria's full membership in Schengen is a historic event. This was stated by Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev at the beginning of today's working meeting in the Council of Ministers, the press service of the cabinet reported.
The Prime Minister highlighted the targeted work of the service cabinet on the topic, as well as the efforts of a number of previous governments. The end result is important, Glavchev emphasized.
The Prime Minister pointed out the many economic benefits for citizens, businesses and investors from our country's full membership in the Schengen area. According to economists' calculations, the financial effect for our country amounts to over 1.6 billion leva per year. In addition, hundreds of thousands of hours of saved time and a significant reduction in the amount of carbon emissions per year are also expected to be part of the effects of the shorter stay at the borders.
During today's meeting with Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, progress was reported on the restructuring of work at the borders with Romania and Greece. The mixed teams of the Ministry of Interior, Customs, RIA and NRA are actively interacting, and the measures that will be taken at the local level have been identified. Changes to road markings and signaling are being discussed, where necessary. Efforts are also being made to have all four lanes of traffic at the Kulata border checkpoint operational by the end of the year.
It was emphasized at the meeting that after January 1, the borders will not remain uncontrolled, as the state has its commitments to protect them. The work will change and will be implemented on the principle of “risk analysis“, random checks will also be carried out, the main goal being to counteract illegal migration. It was also reported that there is currently no increase in migratory pressure.