Bulgaria will continue its diplomatic efforts to join the Schengen area by the end of the year, Deputy Foreign Minister Kostadin Kojabashev assured. 

"We have positive news from Sweden. We are also in a very active dialogue with the Netherlands. We believe that connectivity is key in times of crisis when supply chains are disrupted or severely hampered. That is why facilitating connectivity between EU countries in Southeast Europe through the expansion of the Schengen area should be a priority," said Kodzhabashev, who is also a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He pointed out that Bulgaria's Schengen membership would allow the country to deploy more resources to protect the EU's external border.