Brussels and Bulgaria have reacted extremely indignantly to Prime Minister Rutte’s suggestion that Bulgarian border guards can be bribed with a 50 euro note.
“As far as we know, there is absolutely no question of that,” European Commissioner Yiva Johansson said this morning at a press conference in Brussels. “Bulgaria has every right to join Schengen and I also expect that the ministers of Justice and Home Affairs will take that decision on Thursday.”
The Netherlands has rejected Bulgaria’s accession for the time being. The country is said to be still struggling with corruption at the border. “If there is a border fence, can’t you still get past the border with a 50 euro note?” said Rutte at his weekly press conference. “I’m not saying it will happen, but I want it to be explicitly stated that it won’t happen.” The accession of Romania and Bulgaria, a parliamentary majority previously ruled, could pose ‘security risks for the Netherlands and the entire Schengen area’.
The cabinet has already given up its opposition to Romania and Croatia, but is keeping a firm foot on Bulgaria. The European Commission and the European Parliament and most other Member States believe that the three countries meet the conditions to be part of the zone in which citizens can travel almost freely.
Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said on Monday morning: “Those who question our judgment should realize that expanding the Schengen area leads to more control over the flow of refugees, not less.” He pointed to the reinforcement of the external border that the candidate countries have implemented. “It is a myth and also unfair to suggest that expanding Schengen would lead to less control.”
Schinas will be in the Netherlands on Tuesday for consultations with, among others, Minister of Justice Yesilgöz. Rutte is then at an informal EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana. The EU justice and home affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday. On each of those three occasions, the Netherlands will be critically examined.
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In Bulgaria, the whole weekend was about the statement of the Dutch Prime Minister. “Recently, three Bulgarian police officers were killed while guarding the EU’s external border. Prime Minister Mark Rutte suggested that you can cross the border for 50 euros. That is unacceptable. Instead of European solidarity, Bulgaria feels cynicism!” President Rumen Radev said Friday night.
“Mark Rutte suggested that you can cross the border for 50 euros. Bulgarians are dying at that border to protect not only us but also them. Rutte must be careful,’” said Justice Minister Krum Zarkov.
Former Prime Minister Stefan Yanev, leader of a small faction in the Bulgarian parliament, announced a motion that would force the government to oppose any Dutch proposal and any Dutch appointment within the EU. The Dutchman Hans Leijtens is currently a candidate for the highest job at Frontex, the European agency for border control. Bulgarian MEPs already said last week that they had strong doubts about his candidacy, not because of the qualities of the current commander of the Marechaussee, but because of the attitude of the Netherlands on the Schengen issue. There are also candidates from Croatia and Latvia.
The European Commission released a 20-point action plan on Monday to curb migration via the Western Balkan countries. One of these is the deployment of Frontex border guards not only at the external borders, but also at the borders between Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia.
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