Mark Rutte on Bulgaria's bid to join Schengen: The position of the Netherlands is not "no" but "not now"

President Rumen Radev expects Bulgaria to become a full member of Schengen by October next year at the latest. According to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Bulgaria could be ready even by the summer. Asked by BNT when he would support Bulgaria for Schengen, Rutte replied that the position of the Netherlands is not "no", but "not now".

The Austrian chancellor asked the European Commission to provide financial assistance to Bulgaria to complete and strengthen the fence on the border with Turkey.

The Schengen issue is not on the European summit's agenda, but the Presidents of Bulgaria and Romania plan to ask the other leaders to commit to precise deadlines and clear criteria for the two countries' accession. Before the start of the summit, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands commented that Bulgaria could be ready by the summer, for Radev - the deadline is October.

President Radev from Brussels: Bulgaria will enter Schengen next year, the deadline is October

BNT: Mr Rutte, when will you support Bulgaria for Schengen?

Mark Rutte: "As I said before it is not a “no”, it is “not now”. We need two things - full control of the border and proof of that. Second - completion of the cooperation and verification mechanism. Hopefully by the summer, but I am optimistic.

Rumen Radev: "We are in constant communication with Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The most important thing is that by next year Bulgaria will enter the Schengen area. What we have achieved so far, we are already working with the Netherlands and Austria. And at this Council, with the President of Romania, we will raise the issue of Schengen. Joining Schengen means that the huge queues at our borders with Greece and Romania will be removed immediately. It means that our producers will be able to have much better access to their markets, our export-oriented business."

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer believes the EU should support countries like Bulgaria and Romania in protecting external borders. In his view, the taboo on building fences should be broken and the European Commission should provide EUR 2 billion for Bulgaria to complete and reinforce the fence on the border with Turkey.

"Wherever borders are particularly busy, there are physical barriers and this is an important support for police forces. There are already such fences in many places. Bulgaria has built a fence, but it is in its initial phase and definitely needs to be reinforced. Bulgaria has already calculated that it is EUR 2 billion. Greece has also built a massive fence on its border with Turkey. This fence is so massive that it cannot be torn down, even if it is attacked by force... The European Commission does not provide funding for fences. We believe that countries like Bulgaria should be supported by European funding so that their police officers can protect the border," said Karl Nehammer, Chancellor of Austria.

Rumen Radev commented that Bulgaria is increasingly disrupting illegal migrant trafficking networks and for the first time we have police officers who are being investigated for trafficking. According to him, Romania realises that it has to separate from Bulgaria, especially since Bucharest does not have the technical preparation to put a Schengen border in the Danube. The President believes that the National Assembly should adopt two important laws in January - on the criminal responsibility of the prosecutor general and the anti-corruption law.

European leaders discuss support for Ukraine and the energy crisis. Direct from Qatar, where he watched France's victory over Morocco, President Macron arrived in Brussels and predicted that France would become world champion.