site.btaMunicipal Councils of Bulgaria's Ruse, Romania's Giurgiu Issue Joint Declaration on Schengen

At their second joint meeting here on Thursday, the municipal councillors of the Danubian towns of Ruse in Bulgaria and Giurgiu in Romania issued a joint declaration on Schengen. They also sent a letter on the matter to the two countries' prime ministers and foreign ministers. 

"The failure of December 2022 should not discourage us. We hope that together we can form a common voice that says both countries need and deserve to enter the Schengen area and that freedom of movement is guaranteed, so that there are no more situations where our communities are effectively blocked by tens of thousands of cars and trucks transiting through our cities," reads the document sent to BTA.

During the meeting in Giurgiu, Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov noted that Bulgaria and Romania have met all of Schengen's technical and political criteria. "I believe that we cannot become hostages of the internal politics in several European countries. As the Mayor of Ruse, and in this sense representing part of the population in our homeland, I insist that these countries do not solve their internal political issues by hindering our connectivity," Milkov said. He called on the state authorities on both sides of the Danube as well as the Bulgarian and Romanian MEPs to do everything possible to make the countries that are stopping Bulgaria's and Romania's European integration change their minds.

Ruse Municipal Council Chairman Ivo Pazardzhiev insisted on an urgent and timely legislative change regarding the Schengen area to open the border bilaterally and create a zone for unhindered movement of people and goods between Bulgaria and Romania. "We do not deserve to be 'second-hand people'," he added. 

Mayor of Giurgiu Adrian Anghelescu said Bulgaria and Romania should unite in one voice saying that both countries need and deserve to enter the Schengen area and that freedom of movement is guaranteed. 

Ionel Muscalu, Deputy Mayor of Giurgiu and municipal councillor of the National Liberal Party, said: "We ask the governments to continue asking Europe to treat us as its citizens, equal and not inferior to Austrians, Dutch or other European nations. This discrimination on economic and geographical grounds must stop in the Europe of rights."

Codrut Cainaru, a Giurgiu municipal councillor from the Social Democratic Party, cited a European Commission report which states that the failure to abolish internal border controls has a negative economic impact not only on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, but also on the whole EU. "What does this mean? Increased waiting times at borders lead to increased costs, reduced business competitiveness, disrupted supply chains, and lower revenues for the tourism sector. While I want Romania to be accepted into this free movement area, I don't think this will happen well if Bulgaria is not accepted," Cainaru added.