site.btaFinance Minister Vassilev in Die Welt: Real Question Is What Kind of Immigration Europe Wants

The real question is what kind of immigration Europe wants because the current system allows a lot of illegal migration and the distribution of people among the member states leads to major problems, Bulgarian Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said in a Die Welt interview.

Bulgaria wants to finally be accepted into the Schengen area, but Austria in particular is against it. Vassilev disagrees with Vienna’s claims that Sofia is doing too little to combat illegal migration, and expects Brussels to finally come up with an immigration concept.

“If we take a closer look, it becomes clear that the blockade is not so much about migration. Official data shows that less than 3% of migrants enter the EU via Bulgaria. Rather, the government in Vienna is of the opinion that Schengen as a whole is not working. Our position on this is very clear: we want to be there, understand where the problems lie and help with reforms,” the Finance Minister said.

He argues that keeping Bulgaria and Romania out of Schengen means high costs for Europe. “Every day, more than 4,000 trucks cross the EU's external border with Turkey into Bulgaria. Almost all of the goods are bound for the European market, but are stuck for days because they are checked again on their way to the Schengen area via Romania. This significantly increases the prices for imports and exports and therefore the prices of food and goods.”

Asked about the country’s efforts against corruption, Vassilev says that the counter-corruption structures have been dramatically improved. “Not only those of customs, but also the laboratories that check food for pesticides, for example. Trucks are x-rayed in facilities and we are using more and more modern technology for inspections. We are working together with Frontex and other EU countries.” 

Asked what then is the problem with Schengen, Vassilev says that a strategic approach is needed to unite Europe and not divide the countries.

“When it comes to migration, the real question is what kind of immigration Europe wants. For example, whether we, like Australia or New Zealand, decide on migration based on which skilled workers and qualifications are needed. In the current system, Europe allows a lot of illegal migration and the distribution of people among the member states leads to major problems. In my view, this is damaging Europe. But if the question of who is allowed in is clarified, the Schengen area can be much better protected from the outside,” said Vassilev.

He gives an example: Bulgaria has 1,500 police officers stationed at the EU's internal border with Romania. “As a Schengen member, we could deploy these officers much better to protect our external EU border with Serbia and Macedonia or even Turkey. This also applies to the many police officers currently stationed at internal borders throughout Europe. They would be much better deployed at the external borders.”

Asked about Bulgaria’s ambition to join the eurozone, he said that the country has met all criteria, including interest rate stability and a budget deficit of less than three percent in recent years. “Where we still need to improve is inflation. Our target date for joining the eurozone is therefore January 1, 2025.”

Of Bulgaria’s role in supplying energy sources to the rest of Europe, he says that “gas is indeed still flowing from Russia via Bulgarian pipelines to the EU, for example to Hungary”. “But we introduced an additional tax on Russian gas in October and now charge around 20 percent of the current price as a surcharge for transit through Bulgaria. This lowers Gazprom's profits and makes imports of Russian gas less attractive for many EU countries,” said Vassilev.

Russian cyberattacks and threats against Bulgaria remain “a daily occurrence”, to use Vassilev’s words. “We have had to expel many Russian citizens from the country because they threaten our security. But the mood in the country has changed. A majority is in favor of helping Ukraine to victory and there are corresponding decisions in parliament.”

He argues that Bulgaria’s geopolitical significance is also evident in this department. “Russia is making a big deal of the fact that Bulgarians are only second-class citizens in the EU. Full membership of the Schengen area would put an end to this,” says the Minister.