France and Germany Back Bulgaria for Schengen
France and Germany will attempt at convincing Finland and Holland to support Bulgaria for its accession to Schengen as the country has met the technical criteria and it is unnecessary to be set new requirements to comply with, was the opinion of Manfred Weber, Deputy Floor Leader of the European People's Party.
He talked with GERB's presidential nominees - Rossen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova. Schengen issues were also discussed with priority with Joseph Daul, the Chair of EPP group. He believes Bulgaria and Romania have become victims to populists and Holland has used the issue for inter-political ends. Rossen Plevneliev commented that the Bulgarians were not second-hand people but European citizens of equal rights and who meet the requirements that had been set before all other countries.
Mr. Daul made it a point that Bulgaria had made considerable progress in fighting corruption, but added that the situation in Romania wasn't that optimistic.
In Brussels, GERB's candidates for President and Vice President of Bulgaria, Rossen Plevneliev and Margarita Popova met with EPP President Wilfried Martens and informed on the priorities of their campaigning program. "Our main priority is to create opportunities for development of the Bulgarian economy," Plevneliev said.
On his part, Mr. Martens showed his support for their Presidential run. Plevneliev and Popova are on a visit to Brussels and Strasbourg at the invitation of the Bulgarian MEPs from the EPP Group./Source: Standart Daily/