The Bulgarian Customs Agency has strengthened, starting from 2024, the control of all goods transported to and from Austria, at all customs and border points and throughout the territory of Bulgaria, the BTA website reported on Sunday, according to Agerpres.

customs control of BulgariaPhoto: MYKOLA DOYCHINOV / AFP / Profimedia

The checks are in line with Bulgaria and Romania’s commitments to Austria to strengthen land border controls. The obligation was stipulated in the annex to the decision of the Council of the European Union on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone, the Customs reported.

In the first six days of 2024, the customs agency carried out more than 7,200 inspections of various vehicles, including some passing through Bulgaria. Physical inspection, X-ray scanning and document control were applied both to goods and to the cabins of trucks, cars, minibuses and intercity buses.

What the increased border control of Bulgaria revealed in the first days of the year

During the inspections, violations of customs and excise legislation were detected, as a result of which almost 120 thousand cigarettes, 5.5 kg of tobacco, more than 340 liters of alcohol, 800 liters of motor oil, 1.5 thousand kg of detergents, 5,429 power tools, 10, 5 thousand toys and 110 perfumes. products. All of these were seized during an attempt to import to Bulgaria or transit to Western Europe, the agency said.

Vehicles leaving Bulgaria were also subject to stricter controls. On the way from Austria to Turkey, more than 61,000 goods were seized that were not properly declared – electronic cigarettes and refills, veterinary drugs and glasses.

During the joint control of the border police in the area of ​​the Vidin ferry crossing, six Syrian citizens were found in a specially equipped compartment in a minibus registered in Bulgaria. According to preliminary information, six were heading to Austria.

Enhanced control on Bulgarian roads will also continue in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other competent authorities.

Also, according to the Customs Agency, control will continue at all border points until Bulgaria is admitted to the Schengen area with land borders, after which such control will operate only at the EU’s external borders with Turkey and Serbia.

On 30 December 2023, the Council of the European Union announced the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area, initially with air and sea borders, starting in March 2024. Discussions regarding an additional decision to cancel ground control will continue in 2024, BTA says.

The decision of the EU Council dated December 30 provides for a number of measures to strengthen border control and combat illegal migration, as well as the application of the Dublin Regulation.

“Romania is already applying the above measures already in 2023. The decision of the Council of the EU does not contain any new obligations for Romania,” the MAI also reported.

Discussions are ongoing regarding the land border

The decision of the EU Council is accompanied by two additional political declarations, one tripartite Austria-Romania-Bulgaria and the other by the European Commission alone, which also provide for measures to strengthen border controls and the application of the Dublin Regulation, as well as a political commitment to continue discussions in 2024 on the application of the full Schengen acquis, including regarding land borders.

Both the EU Council Decision and the accompanying political declarations reflect the political agreement reached by Austria, Romania and Bulgaria on 23 December 2023.

Three conditions of Vienna

The agreement was accompanied by three conditions put forward by Austria. They include:

  • increasing the deployment of the EU border protection agency Frontex in Romania and Bulgaria
  • allocation by the European Commission of funds for the protection of the external borders of these countries
  • strengthening of land border controls and reception of asylum seekers from Austria, especially from Afghanistan and Syria, Romania and Bulgaria.

It will be recalled that on December 8, 2022, Austria blocked the expansion of the Schengen zone to Romania and Bulgaria, citing an increase in the number of asylum seekers. The Netherlands was also against Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen.

The Netherlands, which had blocked the integration of the two countries because of its objections to Sofia, decided not to oppose further in a parliamentary vote last year.

On December 27, the MAI announced that Romania had reached a political agreement with Austria and Bulgaria to expand the Schengen area with Romania and Bulgaria, in the first phase with air and sea borders, starting in March 2024.

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