Today we have changed the time not only of the clocks, but also of Bulgaria's development on its European path. This is what the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov said after today's ceremony at Sofia Airport for the accession of our country to the Schengen area. He added that thanks to the hard work of many people over the past months the door to Schengen is already open and Bulgaria's full membership is a matter of time.
Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov stressed that Schengen was not a fence on the border. Schengen is confidence that we can protect the EU borders, but also confidence that Bulgaria is confidently on the European path, will respect the rule of law and will not allow people who break the law to flourish in Bulgaria and they will be punished.
Today’s event to welcome the first flight from Berlin, whose passengers passed without passport control, was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Gabriel, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria Yordanka Chobanova, Minister for the Interior Kalin Stoyanov, Deputy Minister for Transport and Communications Anna Mihneva-Natova, CEO of SOF Connect Jesus Caballero, representatives of the diplomatic corps and others.
Today the airports in Burgas and Varna welcomed their first flights from Schengen countries. At the airport in Varna, a flight from Memmingen, Germany, was welcomed with an official ceremony, and in Burgas a plane from Krakow, Poland, was welcomed with a water salute.
