Due to the resistance of individual EU member states, Bulgaria may not be admitted to the Schengen area at the same time as Romania and Croatia.

 This was reported by Euractiv with reference to its sources in Sofia and European institutions.

 According to these interlocutors, it is increasingly likely that in December the EU leaders will support the admission of only Croatia and Romania to Schengen, without Bulgaria - which would be a significant political blow for Sofia. Decisions should be made on December 8 at a meeting of the ministers of justice and internal affairs.

 The reason is allegedly the reservations of the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as the political situation in Bulgaria.

 In Bulgaria, torn apart by a political crisis, the main parties do not appear to be interested in the government scoring political points for a success like joining the Schengen zone.

 Bulgaria and Romania already reached the criteria necessary for joining the Schengen area more than 10 years ago - even before Croatia's accession to the EU. The decision requires the consent of all Schengen members.

 On October 18, the European Parliament once again called for the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen zone, stressing that the idea of ​​free movement of people is one of the basic ideas of the European project.

 However, a few days later, the Dutch parliament approved a resolution opposing the adoption of both Bulgaria and Romania. The publication learned from sources in the European Parliament that the Dutch parliament is now preparing a new resolution calling for Bulgaria to be separated from the trio.

 Meanwhile, the former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Solomon Pasi, has already stated that Sofia made a mistake by ratifying Sweden's accession to NATO before the issue of Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen zone was resolved.