site.btaGERB Leader Borissov at EPP Congress: Bulgaria-Romania Border Controls Have Disastrous Impact on Environment

Addressing the Congress of the European People's Party (EPP) in Bucharest on Thursday, GERB Chairman Boyko Borissov said Bulgaria and Romania should join the border-free Schengen area by land as soon as possible. He warned that huge tailbacks of trucks waiting for border checks at the Danube Bridge have a disastrous impact on the environment.

Anyone can see the "anti-green environment" at the bridge between Ruse in Bulgaria and Giurgiu in Romania, just 60 km from the venue of the Congress, Borissov said. "Hundreds of lorry drivers stay there for days on end. This is not the 21st century. This is not the way Europe should work," he said.

"No matter what elections or internal political problems a country has, it should not solve them through others," Borissov said, referring to Vienna's veto on the lifting of land border controls between Bulgaria and Romania and Austria's parliamentary elections in 2024. "I have a great respect for the Austrian Chancellor and I will meet him today. I will tell him that for several years the Bulgarian border was not a reliable EU border, but three years ago we had zero migration. I promise we are doing what is needed for Austria, the Austrians, the Europeans to be confident about this Schengen border," the GERB leader said.

"Neither Bulgaria nor Romania deserve to have people waiting at bridges around the clock. Forget about the cargo and the losses; this is an environmental disaster, with engines running non-stop, and no bathrooms," said Borissov.

He said Bulgaria has helped Ukraine much more than the big and rich countries in Europe "with ammunition, armoured personnel carriers, tanks, artillery - anything that the Bulgarian Parliament decided to send Ukraine; moreover, this armament goes directly to the front line, because Ukrainian troops use precisely such weapons".

Borissov also said he had met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The GERB leader noted that Bulgaria has diversified away from Russian gas, Russian oil, Russian nuclear fuel and is launching a project using Westinghouse reactors. "I can say with confidence that we are doing well," he said.

Borissov said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is the person who did exceptional service amid the situation in Europe in recent years.

He said: "Given the state of the world, with the wars going on, we need a strong President of the European Commission, a strong President of the European Parliament. (...) Our delegation of GERB and the Union of Democratic Forces will vote en bloc for Ursula von der Leyen."