site.btaPM: One-sided Abolition of Land Border Controls Between Bulgaria, Romania, Greece Would Be in Conflict with EU Rules

Commenting on the idea of abolishing land border controls between Bulgaria, Romania and Greece by a decision of Sofia, Bucharest, and Athens, on Thursday, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said that this is not being discussed as an option at the political level. He noted that such a step would be in conflict with EU rules.

Denkov said that he is scheduled to confer with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of Thursday’s European Council meeting in Brussels. He noted that Bulgaria's priorities are expected to be discussed, namely Schengen admission for land travel and euro area accession. "We have always had Germany's support," Denkov told reporters.

He said that a unanimous decision is expected to be reached on the continuation of financial support for Ukraine. Commenting on the European Commission's proposals to limit agricultural imports from Ukraine, the Prime Minister said that data show that there is no exceptional increase in these imports. In his words, the Commission's proposals take into account the demands of Bulgarian farmers. Denkov added that there is a significant increase in the budget for agriculture in this country in 2024.

As to Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area, Denkov confirmed that it is scheduled for January 1, 2025. He added that the country is expected to meet the inflation criterion later in 2024.

Taking a question about the upcoming government rotation, the Prime Minister said that only a slight reshuffling of the Cabinet is expected.

Asked about the violations in the process of granting Bulgarian citizenship, Denkov said that the authorities should be more proactive when cases and suspicions of spying and corruption arise. The Prime Minister added that he had not been informed about such.

Commenting on the possibility of President Rumen Radev creating a new political project, Denkov noted that Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic, and any legitimate party representation would be an enrichment of democracy. "We should welcome any form of democracy," he said. "I would be worried if a party is directly or indirectly headed by the presidency. That would be a direct violation of the constitution," Denkov noted.

Asked whether Radev had been invited to participate in the so-called assemblage (a word that has become a household name for an informal power-sharing scheme between Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria and GERB-UDF), Denkov said that CC-DB have never made such a proposal.