February 7 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria still has some work left to do in order to become ready to join the European Union's Schengen passport-free travel area, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has said.
"We support Bulgaria joining Schengen and want to praise the efforts and achievements of prime minister Borissov and his team regarding the implementation of the policies necessary for obtaining this membership but there is still some work to be done from all interested parties, including Bulgaria," the Bulgarian government quoted Mark Rutte as saying during a meeting with Boyko Borissov in Sofia on Tuesday.
In October last year, Bulgaria and Romania were granted access to the Visa Information System of the Schengen area.
In September, the European Commission said it is 'high time' that Bulgaria and Romania become full members of the Schengen area and urged the Council of the EU to take the necessary actions in this regard.
Bulgaria and Romania have demonstrated their capacity to defend the EU's external borders, and should therefore become members of the border-free zone, the Commission said at the time.