Elena Poptodorova, former ambassador of Bulgaria to the USA and vice president of the Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, commented on the issue of Schengen on the air of “Your Day” on NOVA NEWS.

According to the vice-president of the Atlantic Club, “Romania has had a restrained behavior for a long time. We continue to hear the same short sentence – “we continue the negotiations until the end”. We have to learn from them.”

“This problem, with Schengen, it is intra-European. This is part of the accession treaty and is a matter to be decided between the European countries. The other important key is procrastination. I don’t want Bulgaria to enter as a consequence of Romania, which is leading, and not with its own dignity”, stated Mrs. Poptodorova.

Regarding a Sky News report about a shootout on the border, Mrs. Poptodorova pointed out that both the Bulgarian and Turkish authorities denied that there was a shootout on our border. She recalled the ambulance full of migrants that the day before was traveling through Sofia – hundreds of kilometers from the border.

“At any moment there can be small incidents that cause exaggerated reactions. It is not this particular Syrian refugee who certainly staged this detention. There are a number of incidents which show that there needs to be better strengthening of the border. We need stronger capacity. The decision for Bulgaria was made earlier,” said Mrs. Poptodorova.

She urged us to start looking for the blame here in our country. “Better strengthening of the border, more human resources is needed. We also have a sea border that needs to be strengthened. Purely logistical to look around. The human resource is as important as the technological means”.

According to her, the process of accepting Bulgaria into Schengen is not closed.