Bulgaria – praag.org

Another wall goes up in Europe

Nearly three decades after US President Ronald Reagan issued his much-celebrated challenge to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, some Eastern European countries have once again begun floating the idea of building up walls in Europe, this time to keep people out. Latvia is the latest country to jump on the bandwagon.

Speaking to Latvian television on Monday, Latvian Internal Affairs Minister Rihards Kozlovskis noted that Latvia would need “four years and 17 million euros in order to fence itself off from Russia via a wall.”

Kozlovskis emphasized that the wall has been made a necessity by the growing influx of illegal immigrants from Central Asia and the Far East who are using Russia as a transfer point on their way to Scandinavia. According to Radio Poland, 239 illegal immigrants have been detained by Latvian border services since the beginning of 2015, 160 of them from Vietnam, and 20 from Afghanistan.

The minister noted that the proposed wall’s price tag should be taken into account by the country’s government in planning for the country’s next budget.

Latvia far from being alone among European nations in its plans to build security walls to keep illegal immigrants out, even if its location next to the Russian border might seem like an odd choice, to say the least.

The Bulgarian government has recently extended its advanced network of border fencing with Turkey, aimed at completely sealing off the border with the Middle Eastern country.

Hungary has also received a lot of flak for passing a law enabling the construction of a metal fence along its border with Serbia, critics dubbing the project a new ‘iron curtain’.

Source: Sputniknews

Bulgarian soccer fans fly ‘Yes to racism’ banner

Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia can expect another serious sanction after further crowd disturbances by their supporters. The Ultras of the Bulgarian club again unveiled pro-racism banners during their derby against the champion Ludogorets at Georgi Asparuhov stadium last weekend.

The Blue Ultras unfurled a banner with the logo of UEFA and slogan that said ‘Say Yes To Racism’.

Levski Sofian fans with a banner stating, ‘Say Yes to Racism’ — Levski Sofia fans with a banner stating, ‘Say Yes to Racism’

Racism has always been a serious problem for Bulgarian football and it is not the first time fans have brought penalties on their clubs.

It is not yet clear what action the Bulgarian Football Union will take or the scale of the penalty for Levski Sofia. In addition to a financial sanction, the club is likely to be punished with the stand closures in the Georgi Asparuhov stadium.

Levski have already played a number of games in the Bulgarian championship in front of empty stands after being punished for other infractions by their fans.

It is also unclear whether UEFA will take action against Bulgarian the club. UEFA’s message that racism, intolerance and discrimination have no place in football and must be banished from the game is not being heard in Bulgaria. – Alexander Krassimirov, insideworldfootball.com

Ukraine’s leverage evaporates

Vladimir Putin has scored a massive political victory in the heart of the Eurozone, after Austria openly defied NATO and sided with Russia.

Russia has an alternative pathway for its gas, one which bypasses Ukraine entirely and as the current South Stream framework is set up, crosses the Black Sea and enters Bulgaria before passing Serbia and Hungary on the way to the Central European energy hub located in Baumgarten, Austria.

The latest development comes only one short month after Putin concluded a game-changing deal with Beijing.

As Itar-Tass reports, citing Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, “Russia’s gas giant Gazprom does not rule out gas transit via Ukraine may be stopped completely.”

“What happened once is a tendency, nothing happens incidentally. In 2009, gas supplies were stopped completely — so, we know precedents,” Miller told a briefing on Friday.

Clearly, this is bad news for Ukraine: Gazprom is no longer interested in participation in Ukraine’s gas transportation system (GTS).

“That train has departed”, the CEO said.

“It seems it departed yesterday,” Miller said. “It belongs to no one. The GTS has no owner,” he said. “The GTS of Ukraine does not belong to Naftogaz but to the Ukrainian government. Before discussing things with someone regarding modernization and cooperation, it should appear on the balance sheet of this or that economic entity.”

“Property and legal issues should be resolved first,” Miller said.

In fact, the civil war torn country may soon lose all leverage it had with both Europe and Russia as a transit hub for natural gas, which also means that it is quite likely that Ukraine is about to be abandoned by its western allies who will no longer have any practical use for it.

The Gazprom chief added that “a dozen Ukrainian laws need to be changed to be able to do something with the GTS.”

Confirming that Ukraine’s leverage at least with Russia is now effectively zero, Gazprom’s CEO also said that “As for the continuation of negotiations with Ukraine, today there is no subject for talks. First, they must repay their debts.”

“The gas price for Ukraine is fair – this price is fixed in the contract,” he stressed.

There have been no requests on the part of Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy on a change of the transit deal with Russia, Alexei Miller said.

NATO will now turn its attention to the countries which the South Stream pipeline passes through.

Bulgaria, has just suffered its worst bank run in 17 years, and one which has paved the way to early elections.

This may provide the US with a government which will be more focused on their interests, instead of the current regime, whose allegiance to the Kremlin is said to take precedence.

The South Stream countries – starting with Bulgaria, and going through Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and of course, Austria – will suffer scrutiny.

Finally, and perhaps most notably, is last week’s announcement by Gazprom CEO Miller that Gazprom is interested in discussing buying a stake in the Baumgarten gas hub.

“They do everything to disrupt this contract. There is nothing unusual here. This is an ordinary competitive struggle. In the course of this competition, political tools are also being used,” the Russian president said after holding talks with his Austrian counterpart, President Heinz Fischer, in Vienna.

Fischer defended the South Stream project, saying: “No one can explain to me – and I can’t explain to the Austrian people – why a pipeline that crosses EU and NATO countries can’t go 50 km into Austria.”

The mood turned jovial during Putin’s recent visit when the head of Austria’s chamber of commerce reminded Putin that part of Ukraine had belonged to Austria in 1914.

“What is that supposed to mean? What are you proposing?” Putin quipped, eliciting laughter from the business elite.

The one place which now matters most for Europe’s energy future is Austria.

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said earlier he was in weekly if not daily contact with European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger about winning approval for the South Stream project.

Budget airline tickets fuel illegal immigration into Europe, warns EU border chief

Illegal immigration into Europe is being fuelled by airlines that sell budget tickets from North Africa for as little as £120, a senior European border control official has warned.

Migrants buy low-cost, one-way tickets from Morocco and Algeria to Turkey and then slip into Europe via Turkey’s porous land borders with Greece and Bulgaria, according to Gil Arias, the deputy executive director of Frontex.

They are able to take advantage of a recent policy of so-called “visa diplomacy” on the part of Turkey, which has sought to expand its influence in the Middle East by relaxing visa restrictions for citizens from other Muslim nations.

The route is quicker and safer than taking a people-smuggling boat across the Mediterranean. Two such vessels sank earlier this month in the waters between Libya and Lampedusa in Italy, with the loss of more than 500 lives.

“Due to this visa policy by Turkey to the North African nations, people are flying to Istanbul on cheap flights and then on to Greece and more recently, Bulgaria,” said Mr Arias, who previously served as a police inspector and border control official in Spain. “When they get there they discard their travel documents, and will sometimes pretend to be either Palestinians or Syrians in order to try to claim refugee status.”

There is no suggestion that airlines are complicit in illegal immigration, but Mr Arias said Frontex was powerless to stop them carrying such passengers – mainly Moroccan and Algerian passport holders. He said there was no evidence in advance that the passengers were planning to cross into the European Union.

His comments come at a time of growing tensions between European Union nations over how to tackle illegal immigration and who should share the burden. In Greece, public anxiety over the influx has helped in the rise of the Far-Right Golden Dawn party.

Last week, Bulgaria announced that it was planning to spend £2.2?million on a fence to limit the number of Syrian migrants fleeing the country’s civil war.

The 20-mile long fence will go around the mountainous region of Elhovo, one of the most difficult areas to police, after the arrival of 6,800 migrants – 70 per cent of them Syrian – since the start of the year. Bulgaria, which the EU’s poorest member, has demanded extra Brussels aid to deal with the problem. – telegraph.co.uk

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Four out of five Britons do not want Romanians and Bulgarians in the UK

Picture of Romanian gypsies 'setting up cam' on London's Park Lane — Picture of Romanian gypsies ‘setting up camp’ on London’s Park Lane

The London Daily Mail reports that Romania’s prime minister has told Britain not to treat Romanians as ‘second-rate citizens’ when curbs on Romanian and Bulgarian workers are lifted on January 1.

Victor Ponta said last night that research showed no evidence that there would be large numbers of migrants moving from his country to the UK, despite mounting fears.

And he reiterated the claim, made elsewhere, that Romanians were more likely to seek work in southern European states like Italy and Spain, where the language is far more similar to Romanian.

David Cameron this week announced measures to toughen welfare rules for migrants from the European Union amid concern that migrants from Romania and Bulgaria would exploit the benefits system.

He has claimed that one million people from Central and East Europe are living in Britain with migration at a level not seen since wartime.

But, in a statement released last night, Mr Ponta slammed the move. He said people should be punished for abusing the welfare system, but restrictions should not be used to ‘generate or justify abuse or discrimination’.

‘We will not accept being treated as second-rate citizens,’ Mr Ponta said, adding that research showed ‘there is no reason for concern regarding a migrant wave’ from Romania to Britain.

Millions of Romanians had already chosen to work abroad in ‘southern Latin states’, referring to Spain and Italy which have a Latin-based language like Romanian.

He said he hoped Cameron was not trying ‘to attack the fundamental principles of the EU, among which the freedom of movement is one of the most important values’.

Mr Cameron’s benefits proposals were criticised on Wednesday by European employment commissioner Laszlo Andor as an ‘unfortunate over-reaction’.

Warning that Britain risked becoming the ‘nasty country of Europe, he said plans to curb benefits for migrants were were fuelling ‘hysteria’ and accused the PM of distorting the truth about immigration.

‘The point is that the British has not been given all the truth and the full truth about this subject,’ Mr Andor told Radio 4’s Today programme.

Brussels is facing a growing revolt over its no-borders immigration policy, with France and Germany also suggesting they want curbs on EU migrants’ rights.

Mr Cameron, who has been criticised for refusing to give an estimate of how many Romanians and Bulgarians will come to Britain next year, has outlined plans to limit the rights of temporary workers to housing benefit, and a 12-month bar on those fund begging and sleeping rough.

The measures were announced shortly after the Daily Mail published the results of a poll which suggests that four in five Britons do not want unrestricted access to the UK for Romanians and Bulgarians. – dailymail.co.uk

Dutch fear rise in immigration after EU law changes

Lodewijk Asscher, deputy prime minister of the Netherlands, this month warned that migration from eastern Europe threatened his country’s wages and social welfare policies.

In his home country Bulgaria, Viktor, a logistical engineer, earned €350 a month as head of an emergency response unit at the national railway company. In the Netherlands, he works as a handyman, making up to €100 cash a day – less than his Dutch counterparts – and paying no taxes or social insurance.

The Netherlands, Britain and several other western European countries have maintained work permit requirements for Bulgarians and Romanians since they joined the EU in 2007. But even with that restriction, there has been a steady rise in immigration from those countries. Those requirements will expire on January 1, intensifying fears about a further rise in immigration and what this could mean for wages and services.

Mr Asscher compared the situation with a “Code Orange”, the warning Dutch authorities issue when high water levels threaten to overwhelm the dikes.

Sitting in his sister Maria’s smoky kitchen in a heavily eastern European neighbourhood near Amsterdam, an immigrant Viktor however said such concerns are overblown. “There are only seven million people in Bulgaria, and two million have emigrated since the fall of communism. Most of the people who want to leave have left already,” he said.

The Netherlands once boasted of its history as an asylum for immigrants, such as the refugee Jews and Protestants who flocked there in the 16th century.

But over the past decade, it has been wracked by debates over assimilation, with the rightwing populist Geert Wilders denouncing the country’s Muslim immigrants, mainly ethnic Moroccans and Turks. More recently he has turned his fire on immigrants from eastern and central Europe, setting up a controversial website last year to solicit complaints about their behaviour.

Such attacks play on fears that eastern Europeans are prone to crime and compete for Dutch jobs, driving down wages, particularly for unskilled labour.

With the Netherlands in the midst of a year-long recession and unemployment up from 4.4 per cent in 2010 to 7 per cent, such concerns have sharpened.

The government, a coalition between the centre-right Liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Mr Asscher’s centre-left Labour party, has mainly played down the immigration issue. But with polls showing the Socialists and the Freedom party pulling ahead, they are starting to feel the pressure.

The numbers of eastern Europeans in the Netherlands have indeed grown rapidly since EU expansion. Since 2005, the official Polish-born population in this country of 17m has more than doubled to 110,000, while the Bulgarian and Romanian communities have quadrupled to a combined 30,000.

Such figures count only those immigrants who have officially registered as residents; unofficial residents may add another 50 per cent to those figures.

Most economists think such immigration is a boon to the economy. A recent study by the Dutch think-tank SEO Economic Research found that labour migration from eastern Europe was mainly temporary, and that it had little or no effect on local employment or wages while contributing a net €1,800 a head to the government treasury.

But that study assumed that employers who hire foreign workers observe Dutch labour law, including the national sector-wide wage agreements between employers and unions.

“On the big energy plant construction projects we researched in the north, we found that scarcely any firms were sticking to the wage agreements,” said Herman Pol, an organiser for the main Dutch metalworkers’ union. Contractors, he said, typically won bids with offers that required them to undercut wage norms by several euros an hour.

Europeans are braced for a new age of austerity as governments across the region take action to eliminate unsustainable budget deficits

There is no realistic chance that the government will maintain work permits for Bulgaria and Romania after January 1, as it would explicitly violate EU law.

“The end of the work permission won’t be a big difference,” said one immigrant, who plans to return to Bulgaria in a year or two anyway. “Whether you have a permit or not, the main question is, where can I work?” – FT

FIFA to discuss ‘concrete proposals’ to fight racism

FIFA is to discuss “concrete proposals” for combating racism over the next few months and plans to put them into effect in May, soccer’s governing body said on Friday.

The proposals will be chewed over by FIFA’s executive committee at its next meeting in March and then presented to the annual Congress in Mauritius in May which is expected to have the final say, FIFA said.

“I am very pleased with the ideas that have evolved today and look forward to the deliberations with the executive committee next month,” said FIFA president Sepp Blatter following a meeting of the strategic committee.

“The aim is to present to the FIFA Congress in Mauritius in May concrete actions, as well as strong sanctions which will really have an impact.”

FIFA did not elaborate on what the proposals were.

Blatter has previously suggested that points deductions and even relegation could be used as sanctions for teams whose supporters are found guilty of racist behaviour.

Bulgaria, whose fans racially insulted a Danish player, and Hungary, whose fans were found guilty of anti-Semitic behaviour during a friendly at home to Israel, were recently ordered to play their next home World Cup qualifiers behind closed doors.

Italian authorities have drawn up plans for stopping games in cases of racism. Referees and the fourth official have been told to report incidents to public security officials who would have the final say. – Reuters