Bulgaria has been forced to remove the tax imposed on the transit of Russian gas to Hungary and Serbia, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has threatened to veto our entry into Schengen.
Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov admitted this upon entering the meeting of European leaders. We will negotiate on land borders, the Prime Minister said in response to a question about our strategy regarding Schengen:
“We have already prepared proposals. I saw it this morning, we will send it to Austria. Of course, we will also use the European Commission as a mediator in these negotiations, so we continue. Everyone wants to continue this conversation, so we will use today and tomorrow to negotiate.”
Asked whether Bulgaria was forced to back down from the introduction of the transit fee for Russian gas to Hungary, the prime minister replied:
“What we do not want is to remain hostage to decisions that have nothing to do with the common logic of development of the European Union, so what we are trying to avoid is the need to enter again into a European Council decision that requires unanimity .
Hungary has sent an official, albeit low-level, message that if the fee is not lifted, they will veto Schengen. So we decided that there is no need to risk at this moment with, how should I say, important but still not decisive steps regarding Schengen”.
