Bulgaria will take special measures to meet the criteria of the Schengen Agreement. This was announced after the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers last Thursday by Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov.

According to Petkanov, Bulgaria will act to cope with Schengen in nine different spheres - border control, visas, migration, police and security, judicial cooperation, the fight against narcotics, control over firearms and ammunitions, operation of the Schengen information network, and personal data protection. For this purpose, the government approved a National Action Plan for Adoption of the European Union law, related to the convention applying the Schengen Agreement. The plan will be implemented until the end of 2004.

Bulgaria has pledged to adopt laws on the protection of personal data and classified information. These laws have already been approved by the government and have been moved to Parliament. Once they enter into force, a state commission for personal data protection is to be established.

In the field of firearms and ammunitions control, amendments are to be made to the Control of Explosives, Firearms and Ammunitions Act at the beginning of next year. The amendments will introduce stricter regulations for issuing licenses and for the use of legally possessed arms, tighten control over them, restrict the possibility that people with criminal records use arms, and limit the possibility that a person can have a number of licenses for different types of weapons, Petkanov explained.

By the end of September 2002, amendments will be made to the Law on Foreigners and a bill on border security will be drafted.

A National Strategy on the Fight Against Narcotic Substances will be drafted and a national operation and information centre on narcotic substances set up.

The National Action Plan was presented to the parliamentary committee on European integration, which approved it at the beginning of last week. It is to be presented in Brussels, as well. It will be financed with money from the budgets of various ministries and the bodies that will be involved in its implementation.