The Dutch position on Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the Schengen agreement has not softened yet, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov told reporters in Brussels.

Upon asked whether the Schengen area's enlargement will be discussed during the upcoming sitting of the EU Justice and Internal Affairs Council sitting in December, Mladenov said that the Netherlands' stance on the topic "has not evolved yet".

The Netherlands remains the last Schengen state to strictly oppose Bulgaria's accession to the agreement after Finland softened its position in mid-November. Finland now says it would accept a phased-in solution for the Balkan country if it sees a positive Cooperation and Verification Mechanism interim report at the beginning of 2012.

On Thursday, Bulgaria's top diplomat also reiterated that EU's enlargement towards the Western Balkans is a key issue for his country. He pointed out that he has sent a letter to Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele supporting Montenegro's efforts to join the bloc.

It should not look like EU's enlargement stops with the accession of Croatia, Mladenov commented, as cited by dnevnik.bg.

As far as Macedonia is concerned, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister declared that its European future depends to a large extend on its name dispute with Greece.

According to Mladenov, Macedonia should show that it could be a good neighbor to all Balkan states, carry out the necessary reforms and support the regional cooperation.

The dialogue between Balgrade and Kosovo over the next couple of days is crucial for Serbia's EU integration efforts, the Bulgarian top diplomat also believes.

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