Schengen Area

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Milos Vucevic met with North Macedonian Interior Minister Panco Toskovski in Belgrade on Friday to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation on security and in other fields of importance to the citizens of the two states, the PM's office said in a statement.

Applications by Turkish nationals to obtain a Schengen visa exceeded 1 million, with the rejection rate standing at 16.1 percent, costing travelers millions of euros last year.

Only 867,545 applications by Turkish citizens were accepted in 2023.

Minister of Economy Petko Nikolov highlighted the potential economic benefits of Bulgaria's full accession to the Schengen Area, estimating it could generate up to BGN 1.3 billion annually, as reported by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

In 2023, Sofia Airport saw a significant recovery in passenger numbers, surpassing pre-pandemic levels observed in 2019. According to a report from "SOF Connect," over 7,208,000 passengers traveled through the airport last year, marking an increase of 1.2 million compared to 2022.

Hungary's Deputy Minister of the Interior, Bence Retvari, emphasized the significance of including Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen Area by the end of 2024 during Hungary's Presidency of the Council of the EU. He expressed optimism for a timely decision on this matter but did not specify a precise timeline for the vote.

The project for Terminal 3 at Sofia Airport includes plans for airbridges and the option for passengers to walk to and from the planes (the so-called WiWo - walk in, walk out). Milena Mihailova, Director of "Public Relations and Communications" at the concessionaire "SOF Connect," shared this information with TravelNews.

The permanent representatives of NATO countries have selected Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, as the next Secretary General of the Alliance. Rutte will take over from Jens Stoltenberg on October 1, when Stoltenberg's term concludes.

Nearly 10 million people in Türkiye are expected to travel during the nine-day Eid holiday to visit relatives and friends and take advantage of the prolonged respite, a sector representative has said.

Although the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, traditionally spans four days, its extension to nine days has prompted many in the country to make travel plans.

Ylva Johansson, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs, expressed optimism about the potential removal of internal land borders in Bulgaria and Romania within the Schengen Area by the end of 2024. Johansson made these remarks during discussions with journalists in Luxembourg, coinciding with the start of a two-day EU Council meeting on Justice and Home Affairs, as reported by BTA.

The potential new foreign minister of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, who was previously against Bulgaria's entry into the Schengen Zone by land, is likely to assume office, according to sources in The Hague reported by Bulgarian media "Club Z".