NEWS

Bulgaria will participate in the expert debate on changing the Schengen Borders Code, today’s discussion at the Academy of European Law was told by Vice President Margarita Popova. She took part in the forum in the city of Trier along with representatives of the European Commission, the European border protection service FRONTEX and legal experts from EU member states.

Bulgaria has fulfilled all technical requirements for Schengen and the country's accession is a matter of a political decision, Vice President Margarita Popova said at the opening of a seminar at the Academy of European Law in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, on the protection of EU external borders.

The Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Kurt Beck, voiced firm support for Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen zone. Bulgaria relies heavily on the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in the area of judicial reform, co-operation is at a very high level and is a good basis for upgrading bilateral relations. This view is shared by Vice President Margarita Popova and the Prime Minister of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Kurt Beck. Vice President Popova is on a working visit to Germany. The Prime Minister of the Federal State expressed appreciation for the personal contribution of Vice President Margarita Popova to progress in judicial reform in Bulgaria.

The Presidential institution will continue to be an active partner in addressing important social issues in Bulgaria. We have good contacts with the trade unions and this dialogue will develop in the future. This was said by President Rosen Plevneliev, who met today at 2 Dondoukov Boulevard with the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharan Burrow. Ms Burrow is visiting Bulgaria for the opening of an international conference entitled "Employment and Income - Dialogue for Growth and a Better Future for Bulgaria”.

In this lies the new role of the presidential institution, President Rosen Plevneliev and the President of Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ahmed Dogan, emphasised. The Bulgaria 2020 Strategic Development Programme must be arrived at on the basis of non-partisan consensus and this is a new and very important part of the role of the presidential institution. This view was shared by President Rosen Plevneliev and the President of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Ahmed Dogan, meeting at 2 Dondoukov Boulevard as part of the “month of political consultations” initiated by the Head of State.