To begin with, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was against Bulgaria’s admission to Schengen years ago, because monitoring our progress in the fight against corruption and the rule of law was still ongoing under the cooperation and verification mechanism /MSP and reports were written about our country with recommendations.
Today Mark Rütte is against the admission of Bulgaria to Schengen, because there is no longer any monitoring of our country and no reports are being written.
So, with our non-admission to Schengen, Bulgaria has officially been included in the list of second-hand countries within the EU.
This happened despite the support of 25 EU countries and with the joy of some of our “patriots”. And while EU commissioners, ministers and diplomats from outside have convinced us that we have long, too much, met the criteria, in our own country mainly among urban liberals and whistleblowers in Brussels, they have been rubbing their hands with satisfaction that one or two countries are stopping us.
Many things can only be written today, especially on the regrets expressed by everyone after the vote, but I will only focus on a few.
Austria stops us together with Romania because of migrant pressure, I stress migrant pressure, not because of lack of rule of law and corruption. Furthermore, Austria’s thesis is: “Schengen doesn’t work, why expand it”. But EU Home Affairs Commissioner Johansson has made it clear that it is enlargement that would lead to better border protection. Minister Demerdzhiev underlined that the problems posed by Austria are clear and concrete and compromises can be sought on them. In other words, Austria knows what it wants.
The problem with the Netherlands is completely different.
The Netherlands believes that insufficient progress has been made on the issue of high corruption and the rule of law.
What Rutte actually says: “At this stage, it’s not ‘no’ for Bulgaria, it’s ‘not yet’. It will take longer for two reasons: a new evaluation of the cooperation and verification mechanism and the Schengen verification mechanism” . /at the meeting in Tirana./
Some things need to be clarified here.
1/ The assessment under the cooperation and verification mechanism was provided in the last report on Bulgaria in October 2019 with the conclusion that we have met the requirements for the fight against crime and the rule of law. After that date, Bulgaria is not monitored for SMEs and no reports are prepared.
2/ The Commission itself monitored the processes in Bulgaria, published bi-annual reports, defined specific requirements and joined together for their implementation, also with periodic missions to Bulgaria. She should be the most competent in the matter.
3/ Reports and surveillance on Romania continue for another 3 years. The last report for our northern neighbor, with which she is assumed to have met the criteria, was only in November 2022.
4/ However, Mark Rutte admits that it is Romania that has fulfilled the conditions set by the IMP, because there is a “new” report for it, but not Bulgaria, which has not been monitored for three years.
5/ All other member states and the European Commission say that Bulgaria has met and even exceeded the technical criteria for our acceptance into Schengen. But Mark Rutte wants a new Schengen verification mechanism. And this after two extraordinary inspections by the EU in recent months precisely because of the vote. That is, he does not believe it, for him these criteria are insufficient.
6/ The European Parliament adopted a resolution with a large majority in favor of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.
In this sense, Mark Rutte insulted not only Bulgaria, but also the European Parliament, the Commission and the entire EU
That is why Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev says our negotiations with the Netherlands will be problematic. In fact, we don’t know exactly what Rutte wants and how it will come about. He wants a re-inspection, but there is no commission to carry it out and write a report. Furthermore, both we and Romania are already subject to joint supervision for respect for the rule of law, on a par with other countries, including the Netherlands.
And more: Continuing to fight corruption and strengthen the rule of law sounds more than general and lean. What criteria should we meet and who will evaluate them, who will judge? It is obvious that the EC will not do this, they have already spoken out there. Then? It turns out that Holland, in the person of its prime minister, defines itself as single judge and truth of last resort.
I am sorely tempted here to remind you that democracy consists of rules and laws that must be obeyed. In this sense, we have the right to be in Schengen even after signing the accession agreement. But there are clearly written criteria that we must meet. That is to say, clearly spelled out, so that there are no floating controversial positions that everyone interprets according to their own (mainly political/internal) interest. And no one, not even Rutte, disputes compliance with the technical criteria.
But they also appear political, linked to the rule of law, our unreformed judicial system and widespread corruption. That’s why they got us under control. Even with clearly written rules. They have been watching us for over 10 years. They decided that we met the criteria and that there should be no more obstacles to our acceptance into Schengen.
And now it turns out that we will already be under surveillance by… the Netherlands, until it decides according to its own criteria when to let us into Schengen.
The Netherlands is a member of the EU. And as a democratic country, it must also respect the laws and rules of the Community. And when its specialized bodies and committees objectively decide that the criteria set are met, this must be accepted by Rutte as well as by his other colleagues in the European Council. Anything else undermines the Union’s trust, destroys its unity and solidarity and ultimately goes against its interests. The position is not mine, but that of two European Commissioners.
Instead of a conclusion: I do not claim that we have done our job meeting these criteria on both lines. Some time ago a famous jurist and chief justice told me that the improvement of the law is a continuous process. It’s like silverware that you constantly have to polish to keep it looking new. And so it is in all countries, but we suffer from a lack of justice.
But there is one more thing we can do ourselves. And that is to stop cursing our country, criticizing and blaming it, nihilistically slandering how bad we are and how we don’t deserve the good marks from Brussels. Stop writing denunciations against our own governments, invite deputies here to monitor us and complain to foreign ambassadors. And for God’s sake, we finally have a regular government and an authoritative prime minister.
Get to know the story of the Bulgarian cauldron in hell. I think even if they put us in heaven, some native would get a cauldron somewhere.
