President Radev: Bulgaria has long fulfilled all technical criteria for Schengen membership

"It's about time." Thus Bulgaria's President Rumen Radev commented from New York on the possibility that on October 10 of this year a proposal be made for Bulgaria to enter the Schengen area by land borders as well.

The Bulgarian head of state recalled that Bulgaria has long since fulfilled the technical criteria for membership. "A series of governments are working on this topic - caretaker and regular cabinets", said Rumen Radev.

The President expressed the expectation that this would yield results "mostly for the understanding of the member states that the protection of the external border of the EU is a commitment of all countries, not only those that have a common border". He highlighted the efforts of the cabinet with Prime Minister Galab Donev, which has started the pilot project for guarding the Bulgarian border in partnership with Austria.

Rumen Radev led the Bulgarian delegation at the session of the UN General Assembly on the theme "Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations". According to him, the biggest goal at the moment is strengthening global security.