site.btaMEP Angel Dzhambazki: Delay in Bulgaria's Schengen Entry Benefits Germany and to Some Extent Netherlands

MEP Angel Dzhambazki (European Conservatives and Reformists Group/VMRO) told reporters in Strasbourg that Bulgaria's entry in the border-free Schengen area is in the interest of Germany and to some extent of the Netherlands. Germany does not want to veto itself Bulgaria's accession and makes other countries do it, he said.

"This is a famous old trick in international relations. When a country plays a leading role, as is the case with Germany, it is not good for it to be the bad guy, so it finds someone else to do it. This is where Austria comes in. Austria has an immigration problem, but its main migration problem stems from Germany, not Bulgaria," Dzhambazki said.

In his view, Germany has not coped with migrants as it committed to do. "Europe has been flooded with migrants who do not become integrated and support Palestine against Israel now, which is a huge problem and a shock to them, but this is because of Germany's conduct and has nothing to do with Bulgaria", the MEP said.

He is adamant that the illegal migrants entering Austria have not passed through Bulgaria. He claimed that a small number of them went through Hungary via the Western Balkan route, which is funded by NGOs who pay traffickers.

Dzhambazki argued that Bulgaria is kept out of Schengen for transport and financial reasons, the aim being to have Western Europe's ports operating as now.

If Bulgaria and Romania join Schengen, Romania's Constanta, Bulgaria's Varna and Burgas and Greece's Piraeus and Thessaloniki will become the biggest European ports because the route of goods will be shortened and they will reach Western Europe in seven or eight days. With ports like Rotterdam and Copenhagen, this takes two more weeks. By keeping Bulgaria and Romania out of Schengen, the movement of goods is delayed by long waits at the borders of the two countries. In Dzhambazki's words, this costs Bulgaria EUR 100 million a year in direct damage to the transport industry alone. "This is the simplest and absolutely true explanation. Nothing can stand against this," the MEP said.