PM Denkov to EP President Metsola: We have no plan B, we expect Bulgaria to join Schengen

Prime Minister, Acad. Nikolai Denkov, on November 22 participated in a plenary debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The debate is part of the series "This is Europe", which the EP organises with EU Heads of State and Government.

Before taking part in the debate Denkov made a statement to the media together with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

"I want to reiterate the firm commitment that our government has made to fulfil the necessary conditions for our country to be fully integrated into the European structures. I would also like to thank you for your support regarding our accession to Schengen and the Eurozone. We need this support and we will continue to work hard because this is important for Bulgaria to be a fully developed and modern country with high technology, rule of law and all those fine-tuning that make a country successful. We would also like to be able to be useful for the development of Europe and the EU. Our full integration does not mean that we only want to get something from Europe, on the contrary - we have the desire to be as useful as possible to the development of our European Union," said Nikolay Denkov, Prime Minister.

European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola, regretted that Bulgaria was not yet accepted into the Schengen area. She also commented on the war in the Middle East and the temporary cessation of hostilities.

"I want to take this opportunity to welcome the deal for a humanitarian pause in Gaza and the release of the hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas. This gives hope to their families and is a breath of fresh air for the Palestinians and Gaza. This is the moment to redouble efforts to return the hostages home and to increase humanitarian aid. To use this ray of hope to find a long-term political solution for peace," said Roberta Metsola.

Prime Minister Denkov took part in a debate organised by the EP with state and government spokespersons - with different emphases for each country. Denkov was answering questions mostly from Bulgarian but also from foreign MEPs. According to the Prime Minister, Bulgaria has no plan B for Schengen and every effort is being made by Austria and the Netherlands to change their positions for the next meeting of the Ministers of Interior, which is expected in late December.