PM: Bulgarian Borders Tougher Than Austrian

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov (R) and Austrian Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann (L) met in Sofia on Wednesday. Photo by BGNES

No comparison can be made between the conditions on Bulgarian borders and those of Austria, the Balkan country's PM Boyko Borisov told his Austrian counterpart on Wednesday.

"The German-Austrian border is just a traffic sign and a gas station," Boyko Borisov clarified, pointing out that, in the same time, Bulgaria has to fight with constant waves of Asian and African illegal immigrants trying to get into the EU.

However, the Bulgarian PM was positive that his country is 99% ready for its Schengen accession.

"We just have to finish painting one more building and we hope we will be ready by the end of February," he declared.

Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann, who is on a two day visit in Sofia, stated Bulgaria will only enter Europe's border-free zone once it has covered all the necessary criteria. Faymann was positive that the Balkan country is able to cope with the challenge.

"Bulgaria and Austria have enjoyed a good mutual collaboration over the past decades," the Austrian Chancellor pointed out.

In the last weeks of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, key EU member states - most notably France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland - declared their opposition to the Schengen accession of the two Balkan states, saying it would be premature as they still face issues with the implementation of the Schengen requirements with respect to controlling what will become their external EU/Schengen borders.

What is more, since December 2010 the Interior Ministers of France and Germany as well as France's EU Affairs Minister Laurent Wauquiez have voiced additional criticism with respect to Bulgaria and Romania as far as the progress in their judicial reform and rule of law is concerned.

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