French ambassador to Bulgaria Philippe Autie. Photo by BGNES
French Ambassador to Bulgaria Philippe Autie has assured Bulgaria that it will enter the Schengen Agreement.
"Any country's Schengen entry is a matter of difficult decisions," Autie told university students in the city of Varna on Tuesday, according to Varna24.
He reminded that the decision on Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession should be unanimous.
The French Ambassador argued that the two EU newcomers would play a key role within the border-free zone, as they will constitute a part of its external border.
The debate on Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen accession was expectedly postponed for end-2013 during the latest sitting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council.
Until now the two EU newcomers have been denied Schengen membership on several occasions mainly over the opposition of the Netherlands on grounds that, even though they have fulfilled the technical requirements, they cannot secure their borders over lack of progress in the fight against corruption and crime.