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Bulgaria has invited Austrian politician Wolfgang Sobotka to the Bulgarian-Turkish border as part of efforts to convince Vienna to accept the idea of the Balkan country joining the borderless Schengen zone by the end of 2023. But human rights groups are urging caution because it is violent. pushbacks of migrants, organized crime and corruption are still widespread in the country.
The President of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka traveled to Bulgaria on Tuesday October 10 to visit the external border of the European Union with Turkey. He was accompanied by his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Jelyazkov.
Bulgaria had invited the Austrian politician as part of ongoing efforts to convince Vienna that the approximately 250 kilometer long land border with Turkey is well guarded and protected.
Austria and the Netherlands have so far blocked Bulgaria’s membership of Schengen – the European visa-free travel zone – since December 2022, mainly due to concerns that the Balkan country is too lax on irregular migration.
Austria, led by a conservative government, also opposed Romania’s admission to the Schengen area.
Learn more: Exclusive: Why are pushbacks of migrants from Bulgaria to Turkey skyrocketing?
Bulgaria to deploy drones on border with Turkey
Since the start of the year, there have been at least 158,000 failed attempts to cross irregular borders into the EU, according to Bulgarian border police. This represents a notable increase compared to 2022, when only 115,000 people were registered, Jelyazkov told Sobotka.
Bulgaria’s external EU border has been protected since 2017 by a 234-kilometer-long border fence, equipped with thermal cameras. From 2024, drones will also be deployed and video surveillance technology will be extended to an additional 110 kilometers, German news agency DPA reported.
“We greatly appreciate Bulgaria’s efforts to protect the EU’s external border. For us, Bulgaria is an important partner,” Sobotka was quoted as saying by the Bulgarian news agency BTA.
Bulgaria, the poorest EU member state, has become an important transit country for migrants hope to continue their journey to western and central Europelike Germany.
Bulgaria-Turkish border sees increase in pushbacks and violence
Radoslav Kulekov, deputy head of Bulgaria’s border police, said the migrants were “extremely aggressive” and often tried to cross the border fence from Turkey. They have drilled holes in the fence and are using ladders to jump over them, Kulekov added.
Learn more: Exclusive: Corruption and criminal networks permeate migration and asylum in Bulgaria
The Bulgarian-Turkish border has also seen a growing number of pushbacks and violence against migrants over the past year, prompting human rights defenders to demand accountability.
Last year alone, around 5,270 pushbacks, affecting 87,650 people, took place on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, according to the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a non-profit human rights organization. However, the actual figures are estimated to be much higher.
This figure is almost double the number recorded in 2021 – with some 2,510 pushbacks involving almost 45,000 people. In 2020, the Committee reported that approximately 15,170 people were affected.
Concerns about endemic corruption and organized crime
Brussels has also expressed hesitation over Bulgaria’s membership in the Schengen area due to concerns about widespread corruption and organized crime in the country, which are often closely linked to migration, human trafficking and traffic.
Bulgaria has seen numerous investigations into border police officers who participated in smuggling and migrant smuggling operations.
Paying bribes to Bulgarian police, particularly on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, remains commonplace, said Diana Dimova, director of the Bulgarian human rights organization Mission Wings. InfoMigrants.
But Bulgaria seems to be lucky: the European Commission has repeatedly emphasized that Bulgaria and Romania meet all the conditions for joining Schengen.
On September 15, the European Commission officially ended its monitoring of the judicial system and the rule of law in Bulgaria and Romania.
Both countries were found to have carried out important reforms in recent years, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reassured, adding that the commission would continue to regularly assess the state of the rule of law, as is the case with all other EU member states.
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