Government of the Netherlands supports Bulgaria's full Schengen membership

The government of the Netherlands is proposing the kingdom to agree to Bulgaria's accession to Schengen by land, BNR has learned. The cabinet has submitted its proposal to the country's parliament, as required by national legislation. MPs can put the issue to a vote, but even if they say "no", the government has the right to disregard the vote. The other option is to have no discussion at all.

The Dutch parliament is to discuss the issue early next week. At this stage, it is expected that there will be no disagreement with the government's position. This would mean that the last obstacle to Bulgaria's accession to Schengen by land will be removed.

The final decision is to be made on December 12 in Brussels at the Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting.