The Netherlands long held that the Eastern European country did not meet the criteria for accession and was under pressure within the EU to admit Bulgaria.
In addition to the Netherlands, Austria also opposed Bulgaria's accession. Sofia and Vienna are still in talks on how to overcome this resistance so that the accession can be finalized. The shift by the Netherlands is expected to help in this process. It is now Austria that can remove the last obstacle for Bulgaria.
Recently, at the request of Austria and the Netherlands, an investigative mission was carried out in Bulgaria under the leadership of the European Commission, which found no shortcomings. However, the Netherlands insists that Bulgaria "continue working on strong external borders."
So much has improved that it "would just be very unfair" if the Netherlands were to continue blocking Bulgaria, said Prime Minister Mark Rutte in the corridors of the EU summit in Brussels. The Netherlands has been doing this for about fourteen or fifteen years, but "you really see that progress now. Then you have to be honest," Rutte added.