Interim CVM Report Set to Smash Bulgaria Schengen Hopes

EC Spokesperson Mark Gray presented the EC Interim Reports on Bulgaria and Romania in Brussels Wednesday. Photo by ec.europa.eu

The European Commission's interim Cooperation and Verification Mechanism Report revealed on Wednesday is expected to deal a serious blow to the country's efforts to join the Schengen Agreement soon.

Bulgaria needs to adopt its asset forfeiture legislation, take a more comprehensive approach in reforming judicial and investigative practice, enhance the role of the Supreme Judicial Council in the reform of the judiciary and achieve convincing results in the fight against corruption and organised crime, the CVM report has pointed out.

Upon presenting the report, European Commission spokespeople reiterated that the CVM reports and Bulgaria and Romania's Schengen bids are different topics. The EC has pointed out that Bulgaria and Romania are technically ready to join the European border-free area and that the upcoming decisions are political.

The interim CVM report on Bulgaria does not contain political assessments. However, the Netherlands is expected to maintain its stance against the country's phased-in Schengen accession, given the fact that several major issues of the EU newcomer are tackled in the report.

Finland has also declared that it considers the interim CVM report to be a key indicator for Bulgaria's preparedness to join Schengen.

The Commission's reports under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) are published twice a year. The reports are based on contributions from the Bulgarian Government, the Commission services, Member States and NGOs.

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