Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

It is unprofitable for Europe to have Bulgaria and Romania outside Schengen: Finance Minsiter

Photo: Screenshot /Die Welt

Russian propaganda in Bulgaria suggests that Bulgarians are second-class EU citizens. With our entry into Schengen, this will change, says Bulgarian Finance Minister Assen Vassilev in an interview with Die Welt.

According to Vassilev, it is economically unprofitable for Central and Western Europe for Bulgaria and Romania to be outside the zone without border control. 

"Every day, 4,000 trucks cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border to Western Europe, but stay for days at the border with Romania. This makes the transported goods more expensive," Vassilev explains. 

The minister also told Die Welt that the additional fee of 20% imposed on the Russian gas transit through Bulgaria will reduce the profit of Gazprom and make the supply more expensive, which in turn makes the import of Russian gas unprofitable for countries such as Austria and Hungary .



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Sofia and Kyiv discuss energy and defense cooperation

Bulgaria’s Premier Rosen Zhelyazkov and Ukrainie’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed energy security in the region and opportunities to strengthen cooperation in this area. The two held a phone conversation on November 6. They also discussed..

published on 11/7/25 9:33 AM

Six illegal migrants have died in a car accident after Police chase near Burgas

Six migrants died after the car transporting them overturned on the shore of Lake Vaya near Burgas. Before the accident, the traffickers’ car had been chased by border police between the towns of Kiten and Burgas.  The driver of the car — a Romanian..

published on 11/7/25 8:57 AM

Hackathon in Sofia to develop innovations for European Space Program

In the period November 7 to 9, Sofia Tech Park will host the tenth edition of CASSINI Hackathons & Mentoring, organized by the European Commission and the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA). The hackathon will..

published on 11/7/25 7:15 AM