Yesterday, the MEPs of Bulgaria released a joint declaration to enter Schengen. After the 11-year blockade, Bulgaria and Romania are now eligible to join Schengen. During a debate in Strasbourg-France, the European Commission and all parties in the European Parliament jointly stated that this was their opinion.
Unexpectedly, two German MEPs used their allowed one minute to mock Bulgaria and Romania. The MP from the party “Identity and Democracy” (ID), Gunnar Beck, explicitly emphasised that, “According to Transparency International, the two countries are not only not making progress in the fight against corruption, but the situation is even getting worse”.
Another MEP said, “We urgently need to rethink Schengen by strengthening internal border controls and securing exterior ones rather than adding three corrupt nations to Schengen. I claim that both countries are still vulnerable to corruption and that more mass migration into the EU will result from their acceptance”.
Guido Reil, a member of the European Parliament, called Romania the wild west in the middle of Europe. He said, “How is it possible that this nation is an EU member? The infrastructure and law and order in Ukraine used to be considerably better. Nobody noticed that when Romania was accepted, right?
He also highlighted the problem of Bulgaria with the Turkish border. According to Reil, the mafia has been controlling the Turkish-Bulgaria border for a long time. He added, “When money is poured into corrupt countries, it is expected that things will improve. Now that they have it back, the mob merely dons a uniform. No, the funds are only used to support corruption”.
Margaritis Schinas, Deputy Head of the EC, made it clear that the European Commission fully supports the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen. He hopes the EU will make a historic move by letting Bulgarian and Romanian citizens into Schengen.