The Netherlands Removes Obstacles to Bulgaria’s Schengen Entry

The Netherlands has finally removed all obstacles to Bulgaria’s full entry into Schengen.

This came after a debate in Parliament last night.

A proposal was made that our country be admitted to Schengen only by air – as Austria also wants. It gathered 59 votes “for” against 49 “against”. And although the supporters of our partial entry prevailed, the proposal was rejected because it did not gather the necessary absolute majority of 76 votes.

Just a week ago, the government of the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte decided that Bulgaria fulfills all the requirements to enter the Schengen area for free travel. By law, it sent a letter to Parliament. Deputies had three options – to support the decision, reject it or not even consider it, which means full agreement with the cabinet’s actions.

During the debate, however, a resolution was introduced by the New Social Contract (NOD) party, which was founded only in the summer and is currently the fourth force in the Low Countries. She supported Austria’s position that our country should be admitted to Schengen gradually, with the first stage being only by air.

However, the proposal did not receive enough votes. Surprisingly, Mark Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (NPSD) voted yes. Even more surprising, however, was that Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party (PF), which won the most votes in the parliamentary elections a month ago, no vote. If its MPs were in favour, the Netherlands’ position would be for Bulgaria to enter Schengen by air. The proposal would have received 96 votes.

“There are two possibilities. Those in the Freedom Party have either been sleep-deprived or are so anti-European that they don’t even know or care what Schengen means,” sources from The Hague joked to Club Z.

59 MPs from NPSD, NOD, the Farmers-Civil Movement (FGD), the Christian Democratic Assembly (HDS) and the Christian Union (CS) voted for Bulgaria’s partial entry into Schengen.

49 deputies voted for full accession, Club “Z” reported.

Thus, Austria remains the only obstacle to the full entry of Bulgaria and Romania into Schengen.

2023-12-22 08:18:00


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