18/03/2024 The President of the National Assembly Rosen Zhelyazkov: Bulgaria's main goal remains the removal of land border controls within the Schengen area as soon as possible

18/03/2024

Bulgaria's main goal remains the removal of land border control within the Schengen area as soon as possible this year. This is what the President of the National Assembly Rosen Zhelyazkov said at a meeting with the President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka. Rosen Zhelyazkov is visiting Vienna to participate in the Ninth Speakers' Conference within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).

The President of the National Assembly noted that an important step has been made in the past year on the road to Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area. We are convinced that the removal of land border controls for us will strengthen the EU's internal market and competitiveness and will lead to increased security in the EU, especially in the context of the common threats we all face, he added. According to him, this will also give an even greater boost to economic relations between the two countries. The position of the Austrian business in favour of our full membership is also unequivocal, the President of the Parliament stressed.

Rosen Zhelyazkov said that Bulgaria has taken decisive measures to strengthen control at the EU's external borders, prevent secondary movements and fight migrant trafficking. Since the beginning of 2024, the Customs Agency has been carrying out enhanced checks at all customs and border posts, as well as on the territory of the whole country, on goods and cargo travelling to and from Austria, he said, adding that this is in line with the commitment for increased control of land borders undertaken by Bulgaria and Romania to Austria in the signed annex to the decision on the accession of the two countries to Schengen.

The President of the National Assembly thanked Austria for its support for Bulgaria's accession to the Eurozone and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He noted that the country is an important political and economic partner of Bulgaria and we are developing intensive dialogue and active cooperation. In 2024, 145 years have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, he added.

The intensification of the political dialogue between the parliaments of Bulgaria and Austria at the level of Presidents of parliaments, parliamentary committees and Friendship Groups, both bilaterally and in international forums, contributes to a better understanding of national positions and protection of the shared interests of the two countries, the President of the Parliament said.

Austria is among the leading foreign investors in Bulgaria, Rosen Zhelyazkov reminded. We welcome the interest of the Austrian business to expand its presence in Bulgaria in areas such as new technologies and innovations, while supporting the development of industrial parks and modern industrial zones, he added. We are interested in exchanging experience in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, digitalization, new energy technologies, hydrogen, e-mobility, as well as waste management and utilization, the development of the circular economy, the President of Parliament noted.