The Netherlands does not want to admit Bulgaria to ‘Schengen’

NOS News•today, 14:28•Amended today, 14:48

Next week, the Netherlands will agree to Romania and Croatia joining the Schengen area, but will not yet give Bulgaria the green light. That country does not yet meet the conditions, the Council of Ministers decided today.

The expansion of ‘Schengen’ by three countries is on the agenda of the EU ministers of the interior on 8 December. Most countries have already made their decision.

After the Council of Ministers, Minister Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs said that it is “too early” to now agree to Bulgaria’s accession. He mentions corruption in the country as one of the Dutch objections and says that the Netherlands is not the only country to object to Bulgaria as a new Schengen country.

Stretching the perimeter of ‘Schengen’ is a sensitive issue. Not least because of the abolition of border controls. This makes it easier for migrants traveling through the Balkans to come to the Netherlands.

The Schengen treaty states that citizens of the EU can travel freely through the Schengen area. That area now consists of 22 EU countries and four countries outside the European Union.