site.btaSchengen Membership Should Not Be Tarnished by Controversial Practices - Prime Minister

"Our full membership of Schengen is an achievement of many Bulgarian governments and many teams [of experts], and we will not allow it to be tarnished," Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said at the Danube Bridge border crossing between Bulgaria and Romania at Ruse on Friday. He was apparently referring to reports that truck drivers are required to present a slip issued from a privately operated buffer parking lot before crossing the bridge.

Glavchev said he was surprised to hear about the practice, and added that the cabinet reacted immediately. He visited the parking lot and saw about a dozen trucks there.

He commented: "We need to observe two rules. First, vehicles should cross the border as quickly as possible, and second, we should avoid any disruptions of the everyday life of the people of Ruse in the event of traffic congestion."

During his visit to Danube Bridge, the Prime Minister was accompanied by Regional Development and Public Works Minister Violeta Koritarova and Transport and Communications Minister Krasimira Stoyanova.