Presidents Rumen Radev and Klaus Iohannis discussed in a telephone conversation the joint efforts of Bulgaria and Romania to join Schengen. The common position was that the two neighbouring countries meet the established criteria for Schengen membership and the repeatedly reaffirmed readiness for this by the European institutions, and the majority of EU member states should lead to specific decisions.

 

Radev and Iohannis reaffirmed the ambitions of Bulgaria and Romania to keep on working to expand bilateral connectivity by deepening cooperation in the economic, trade, tourism, and transport and energy sectors. Romania is Bulgaria's second-largest EU trading partner, with a steady trend of intensifying trade ties and a significant increase in trade, which amounted to nearly EUR 6.5 billion in 2021.