site.btaExtending Control at Bulgarian-Romanian Border for Six Months after Schengen Accession Is Wrong - Ruse Mayor

Pencho Milkov, Mayor of Ruse (on the Danube), commented to journalists here on Tuesday that it is wrong to extend the control at the Bulgarian-Romanian border for six months after the countries' entry in Schengen by land. Milkov is in Hanoi as part of a Bulgarian delegation led by President Rumen Radev.

"I would like us, first of all, to appreciate the efforts of our government and all state institutions. However, I am concerned about this condition, which we are all reading about, of a minimum of six months of restrictions to be maintained at the northern border. I speak as the Mayor of Ruse and a member of this society of our fellow citizens, as do all the other Danube municipalities. It is absolutely illicit and wrong to have double standards," Milkov said.

"The road runs through the body of the city [Ruse], tens of thousands of cars pass every day and thousands of heavy trucks - this thing [extended border control] should be abolished," the Mayor said.

He described the extension of the border control for a minimum of six months as an improper restriction. "Since restrictions are being imposed on us, are we imposing restrictions on anybody, since all the road traffic with goods from the East to Europe passes through our country at this historic moment? And for me this should be a moment not of trouble, but a moment of strength," Milkov commented.

In his words, all kinds of unregulated activities have been reduced, this is visible and the figures prove it. Bulgaria really needs to do everything possible to keep the extension of border control to six months, not years, Milkov said.

"We have six controlling institutions gathered at the Danube Bridge. The State can decide that the inspections should be inland and according to risk rules, which is an action we have also been fighting for for years," he noted.