Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria ask FM to report weekly on her efforts towards Schengen entry

In a post on their social media Wednesday, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) said their MPs have asked Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel what steps she intends to take towards Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area and insist that she submit weekly written reports. They point out that Schengen entry is among the top priorities and was "a major factor for the CC-DB support for the rotational government".

"We see the persistent efforts of Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and individual MPs of the ruling majority towards stepping up the process of this country's accession to the Schengen area, and we notice with concern the weaker role of the Foreign Ministry in this area. We would not want to risk the Euro-Atlantic course of development of Bulgaria due to wasted opportunities to act. That is why we will demand that the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister submit weekly written reports," the post goes. 

CC-DB co-floor leader Kiril Petkov commented that Bulgaria should have a clear strategy for how to convince Austria and the Netherlands to support Bulgaria. "It will not happen just like that. We want to bring it to the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that we cannot just stand by and wait for someone to say 'no'. We have to act," said he.

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov travelled to Vienna on October 24 to try to talk the Austrian leaders into backing Bulgaria's entry in the European border-free area. Austrian officials made it clear that they do not intend to change their mind as of now, even though they admit that this stance has nothing to do with Bulgaria and Romania and is forced by a security considerations.

Also on Wednesday, Movement for Rights and Freedoms co-floor leader Delyan Peevski said that "we expect the Prime Minister to report in writing to Parliament about the intentions, actions and state of play in the Lukoil case, and do that by Thursday evening."