Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov has told Austria that Bulgaria insists on becoming a full member of the open-travel Schengen area, after Vienna agreed only on partial membership for Bulgaria and Romania. Austria on December 10 said it would allow the two Eastern European countries to join Schengen for air travel only and in exchange for tighter security at the EU's external border. "Bulgaria and Romania have fulfilled all the criteria for full Schengen membership," Stoyanov said at a meeting with Austrian and Romanian counterparts Gerhard Karner and Catalin Predoiu on December 12 in Slovenia.
Bulgaria Tells Austria It Wants Full Schengen Membership
MEPs protest for Schengen membership for Romania and Bulgaria in Vienna on December 4.