Report

Testimonies by
EU citizens on
corruption
while crossing
Bulgaria
Introduction 2

Alleged corrupt practices affecting EU citizens

crossing Bulgaria to and from Turkey 3

The major complaints 4

Allegations of corrupt behaviour of border and 4

customs officials

Measures taken in the past by Bulgaria to tackle

corrupt practices at its borders 4

The perception of corruption in Bulgaria 5

Lack of follow up with prosecution of corruption

of border officials: the examples 5

The controversial practice of obligatory disinfection

at the border 6

Alleged disproportionately long waiting time

at the border 8

Alleged abuse by the traffic police 9

Alleged abusive pricing of road vignettes 9

Annex I: Testimonies by EU citizens 11

Annex II: Question to the European Commission 104

Annex III: Press 106

Annex IV: Information on border control at the Bulgarian-Turkish and

Bulgarian-Serbian Border by Bulgarian Ministry of Interior 118
Introduction
During the summer months of 2017, we received hundreds of complaints from mainly 2
Belgian and Dutch EU citizens about their experiences in Bulgaria when travelling to and from
Turkey for holidays. The number of their complaints and the description of the problems they
encountered are to be taken seriously. Therefore we decided to publish them in this report, in
light of the Bulgarian EU Presidency as of 1 January, 2018.

Our goal is that all our citizens will be able to travel freely and without problems through
Bulgaria during the coming summer period. We hope that this collection of citizens’
complaints will contribute to that end and help the Bulgarian authorities to take stock of
travellers’ grievances and address them effectively. To that end, we offer to work together
to set up a monitoring system for July-August 2018, in order to be able to evaluate whether
the complaints identified by us have been addressed properly. As parliamentarians we have
a duty to tackle the issues that the people we represent are confronted with, and we are
confident that, by co-operating with the Bulgarian government in this manner, we will be
able to do so.

Since mainly people of Turkish origin appear to be the victims of the practices
signaled to us, they have the impression that they are treated as second-rate EU citizens. The
difficulties which they reported to us this year, are not new as such. But it is alarming that these
practices continue to exist ten years after Bulgaria’s accession to the EU.

The most frequently mentioned complaints concern:

• bribes solicited by border and customs officials;
• the obligation to pay ‘disinfection’ fees;
• excessive waiting times at Turkish-Bulgarian border;
• bribes solicited by police officers when crossing the country;
• overcharging of road vignettes.

In advance of the publication of this paper all the complaints have been translated into English,
we published written questions to the European Commission, from the Dutch and Belgian
governments reactions were demanded by members of parliament, we held meetings with
various stakeholders, and did further research. We also received a letter from the Bulgarian
government providing information which you will also find annexed.

We are not convinced by the Bulgarian authorities’ claim that an investigation into the
complaints made public by us earlier, did not confirm any of the allegations. We have
received too many testimonies for this, all confirming the same practices. Therefore we
hope that these citizens’ testimonies will be treated with the appropriate seriousness and that
the dialogue does not end here – but that effective action will lead to a significant reduction of
complaint cases the coming year.

Sincerely,

Kathleen van Brempt Kati Piri Güler Turan

MEP & Vice-President S&D MEP & EP Turkey rapporteur MP Flemish Parliament
Belgium The Netherlands Belgium

Güler Turan
Alleged
corrupt
practices
affecting
EU citizens
crossing
Bulgaria to and
from Turkey
The Major Complaints

Based on the complaints received from EU citizens travelling to Turkey via Bulgaria, we have
identified the following most common grievances, indicating corruption and maltreatment of 4
travellers. We will let the facts speak for themselves.

Allegations of corrupt behaviour of border and customs officials

The necessity to pay bribes at the Bulgarian-Turkish border

seemingly continues to be a persistent problem, although some
It’s like roulette.
people do mention that it used to be worse in the past. What is You never know
reported most frequently, is that travellers feel obliged to put a
note of 5 EUR in their passport, when handing it over to the border why they pick
officials. you and what
Quote: “I crossed the border in Bulgaria. We waited for a long ten they are looking
hours. The border control police asked me for money. I had to put 10 for. Entire
EUR in the passport. If not, they’ll ask for it. If you refuse, you can wait
for hours.” suitcases are
Or: “The officers at the border disassemble your whole car unless you
opened and
put 20 EUR between every passport. The things you bought, presents, emptied.
Similar complaints have been received about corrupt customs officials:

“The behaviour of the officials was always cold and distant. Since 2 years a lot of bribes have also been
demanded, that means for example I had to go through 4 booths and was asked by the officials to pay 5
EUR ‘drinking money’.”

And: “In Bulgaria our luggage was checked, it is like roulette. You never know why they pick you and what
they are looking for. We smoke, nor drink. Entire suitcases are opened and emptied. If you don’t have any
cash, they’ll ask for Red Bull, a pack of cigarettes, etc.”

Measures taken in the past by Bulgaria to tackle corrupt practices at its borders

Because addressing corruption was identified already during the accession negotiations as a priority,
the country has built up a record of tackling corruption of civil servants. This has recently been
summarized by the European Commission as follows:

“In the area of border control, officers working in corruption risk zones are rotated regularly. A risk register is maintained
on personnel and regular police operations are carried out by mobile control and monitoring groups with participation of
relevant law enforcement services. An email and telephone hotline has been made available to citizens who experience
irregularities at the border. Video surveillance has been introduced at the border which, aside from controlling movements
over the border, should also limit the opportunities for corrupt activities. With regard to training and human resource
management, measures were taken to incorporate anti-corruption content in all courses of the MoI Academy. An integrity
test procedure was developed for use in the initial selection of staff for appointment at the Ministry of Interior. In October
2016, the National Assembly adopted amendments to the Ministry of Interior Law which will provide the legal basis for the
introduction of inspections of integrity and for the assessment of personal property declarations of ministry personnel ba-
sed on information from public registries. The anti-corruption plan of the Ministry of Interior is implemented in the context
of a broader reform of the ministry and appears to be a serious and determined effort to stamp out low-level corruption
in one of the sectors most notorious for it. According to the European Commission, wider efforts to address corruption
at lower levels – for example at the borders – are needed in particular in terms of measures to enhance prevention, which
should be introduced in combination with wider efforts to increase transparency and professionalism in the public admi-
nistration. The Ministry of Interior has put in place a range of concrete anti-corruption preventive measures (notably with
the traffic and border police) in the context of a broader reform of the Ministry. These measures should be continued and
continuously followed up.” [1]
 According to a 2016 report of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a number of official
anti-corruption measures have indeed been taken - e.g. rotating border policemen and strengthened
video surveillance of border crossings. However, this report also stresses their low effectiveness,
due to the lack of systematic control and, in particular, of a sanctions mechanism. [2]
5
The perception of corruption in Bulgaria

While there has been progress in reducing corruption during the years leading up to EU accession
as well as in the period immediately following it, there is evidence that recently Bulgarian citizens
perceive that there has been a reversal of the level of bribery moving back up again to levels last
noted before the EU accession.[3] A similar trend is seen in the annual surveys conducted by the
Standard Eurobarometer 2017. Nearly half (48%) of the respondents indicated that things are worse
than in 2007, with almost three out of ten (29%) saying that things are even much worse. On top of
that, almost all respondents (97%) in Bulgaria thought that corruption is an important problem. [4]

Lack of follow up with prosecution of corruption of border officials: the examples

Based on information available, one can also conclude that law enforcement and judicial institutions
face serious difficulties in the prosecution of corruption cases. Below we present a summary of such
cases. They confirm the impression that while there have been various charges brought against bor-
der and customs officers for taking bribes, there hasn’t been a single person convicted or dismissed!
We found the following examples:

1. In 2008, a Bulgarian investigations website provided among other details of a

December 2004 border corruption case concerning a customs officer at the
Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint demanding bribes from travellers. It claims [5] that
the customs inspector involved had been sanctioned earlier for extorting travel-
lers in 2002, and was actually dismissed in 2005 before being reinstated within the
Customs Service at another post, and returned to the Kapitan Andreevo border
crossing in 2007.

2. Another claim made in the context of border corruption is that a witness state-
ment by German border police officers visiting Bulgaria in 2005 about Bulgarian
customs inspectors harassing travellers was never really acted upon, and the police
officers involved were cleared.

3. On 1 July 2010 a sting police operation at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing
that had been prepared for some two months, resulted initially [6] in the arrest of a
customs officer and a border police officer for extorting travellers by demanding bri-
bes of 20 EUR from long-haul bus drivers for processing documents. The number of
those arrested later grew to nine. The subsequent investigation led to a court case
and an acquittal of the accused in 2015 [7] on the grounds that the pre-trial investiga-
tion had been conducted unprofessionally and there was no irrefutable evidence in
support of the prosecution’s allegations.

[1] European Commission Report Bulgaria 2017

[2] Center for the Study of Democracy, State Capture Unplugged, 2016
[3] Center for the Study of Democracy, State Capture Unplugged, 2016 p 11-12
[4] Eurobarometer 2017
[5] See Потресаващи данни за контрабандните канали у нас In: Afera.bg, 12 June 2008.
[6] See Акция на ГДБОП затвори “Капитан Андреево” [The Kapitan Andreevo border crossing closed as a result of an operation by the
Chief Directorate for Combatting Organised Crime ], News.bg, 30 June 2010.
[7] See Показната акция ”Граница” завърши с 9 оправдателни присъди [The ‘Border’ operation ends with 9 acquittals], Dir.bg, 29
4. In May 2012 a police operation[8] led to the arrest of over 30 customs officers at the Kapitan Andree-
vo checkpoint for demanding bribes mostly from passing truck drivers and the confiscation of some
15000 BGN (ca. 7500 EUR) collected as bribes. Eight customs officers, among them the deputy head
of the Kapitan Andreevo customs office [9], were charged - five of them with participating in an orga-
6
nised criminal group and three with taking bribes. Of these, four were detained, while the remaining
four were released on bail by the courts or held under house arrest.[10] Those detained were released
from detention[11] by order of the Court in 2013 and summarily dismissed, one of them being reinstated
in his job after appealing against his dismissal before the courts . Later media reports[12] suggest that
during the course of the investigation the prosecutor in charge was replaced, which resulted in the
collapse of the case. The suspects were released, an official indictment was never presented before
a court and the proceedings themselves were officially classified.

5. On the 3rd of November 2014 seven customs officers at the Lesovo border crossing were arrested
[13]
for bribery. In February 2015 the Court ordered the release of five of them (the other two had
already been released on bail), pointing out that the Prosecutor’s Office had not conducted any me-
aningful investigation. The Special Prosecutor’s Office then brought official charges against the
seven suspects in December 2015.[14] According to these charges the suspects had demanded bribes
ranging from 20 leva (10 EUR) from foreign travellers and 5 EUR “tips” from truck drivers to 400 EUR
for non-EU cargo trucks (from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine). [15]

The suspects themselves remain on bail, but have not been officially dismissed due to a change in
the Civil Servants Act following a judgement of the Constitutional Court.[16] Under this judgement Ar-
ticle 100, paragraph 2, of the Act, which allowed civil servants’ temporary suspension in the case of
disciplinary proceedings, was declared unconstitutional in May 2016, thus making possible a reinsta-
tement even in the case of a pending court case against them.

As of April 2017, the case was on the list of priority cases before the Special Criminal Court in con-
junction with measures 41 and 42 of the Action Plan for meeting the European Commission’s recom-
mendations of January 2017 under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for Bulgaria,
without any concrete outcome yet.

6. On the 13th of December 2015 a police operation led to the arrest[17] of 33 customs officers at the
Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint for having taken bribes, most probably for letting in contraband tobac-
co, and also bribes requested from passing drivers, ranging from 5 to 250 EUR. Eleven of them were
released after 24 hours, followed later by another eight persons, and the 14 remaining suspects were
then released on bail by the Special Criminal Court.[18] As of September 2016, it seems that investiga-
tions and courts cases against them are still continuing. [19]

[8] See При спецакция на ГКПП Капитан Андреево : Задържаха над 30 митничари [Over 30 customs officers arrested during a special operation at the
Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint , In: Stmost.info, 3 May 2012.
[9] See Осем от задържаните митничари вече са обвинени [Eight of the accused customs officers have been charged, Bnews.bg, 3 May 2012.
[10] See 4-ма от подкупните митничари остават в ареста. Танов: Дано се ”удавят”[Four of the corrupt customs officers remain in detention, Dir.bg, 10
May 2012.
[11] See Задържан с подкуп митничар се връща на работа [Customs inspector arrested for bribery is reinstated, In: Правен Свят, Legal World,
8 August 2013.
[12] See Прокуратурата обвини задържаните митничари на ГКПП “Лесово” - Акцията на граничния пункт беше извършена в края на 2014 г.
[The Prosecutor’s Office has charged the customs officers arrested at the Lesovo border crossing point - the police operation took place in late 2014,
Capital weekly, 5 January 2016.
[13] See Шефът на митница “Лесово” задържан като тартор на престъпна група 7 души са с обвинения за подкупите на пункта
[The head of the Lesovo customs office has been arrested as head of a criminal group - 7 persons charged with taking bribes at the
border checkpoints, Blitz.bg, 3 November 2014.
[14] See footnote 8.
[15] See Спецпрокуратурата предаде на съда седем митничари от пункга “Лесово” [The Special Prosecutor’s Office has officially charged seven customs
officers from the Lesovo border crossing, Mediapool, 5 January 2016.
[16] See Няма такава държава: Обвинени за корупция митничари ги връщат на работа [This is unbelievable! Customs Officers accused of corruption are
being reinstated], Fakti.bg, 23 June 2016.
[17] See Прибраха в ареста 33 корумпирани митничари (обновена) [33 corrupt customs officers arrested - latest news -], Monitor.bg, 13 December 2015.
[18] See Съдът пусна под гаранция задържаните митничари от “Капитан Андреево” - Съдът прие, че са налице данни за извършено престъпление [The
Court released customs officers from the Kapitan Andreevo crossing on bail - The Court stated that there are indications that a crime has been
committed], Capital weekly, 17 December 2015.
[19] See footnote 17.
 7. On the 30th of September 2016, a police operation led to the arrest[19] of nine
customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing for
demanding bribes of 15-20 euros from truck drivers. Of these, six were remanded in
custody, two were released under signature bond, and one was placed under house
7
arrest.[21] The six officers in custody were also released on bail in November 2016. [22]

8. On 19 October 2017 a police operation led to the arrest of customs officers

suspected of taking bribes (to the amount of 60 000 EUR) at the Malko Tarnovo
border crossing.[23] Five of the twenty persons arrested were later charged with taking
bribes from passing drivers[24] and released on bail.

The controversial practice of obligatory disinfection at the border

Travellers have indicated that, when entering Bulgaria from Turkey, there are just two lanes open
for a compulsory preventive disinfection. The official disinfection fee is 3 EUR. The procedure is
described not only as time consuming - when waiting times during the summer could go up to 14
hours - but also as a kind of humiliation.

A witness: “On the way back you even go through a ‘disinfection gate’
at first, where they sprinkle your car with liquid of which you don’t even
The disinfection know what it is. For this you pay 3 EUR to 5 EUR (for something nobody is
is pointless. asking for).”
Some water Another: “From Turkey to Bulgaria we even had to pay 4 EUR per car
is sprinkled for so called ‘disinfection’. I think this is a shame, because the car got
covered in dirty water, the stains of which were very hard to get off.”
on the cars
and the Or: “The disinfection is pointless. Some water is sprinkled on the cars
and the wheels get wet.”
wheels
get wet. And: “Disinfection at the border crossing? A dirty splash of water for
over your car for which you have to pay 3 EUR? It’s just legal theft, just
calculate it when every driver has to pay this.”

Disinfection fees at the Bulgarian borders have been demanded before - in the mid-2000s when Ro-
mania recorded numerous cases of avian flu in poultry and at the border with Turkey until 2009, when
the practice was shut down following reports of corruption. The practice was resumed in 2011 becau-
se of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in Turkey.

The legal basis for the preventive disinfection is Art. 47 of the Veterinary Practice Act. The Bulgarian
Food Safety Agency (BSFA) has a Risk Assessment Center that analyses the situation in Turkey. On the
basis of this analysis, the BSFA Executive Director issues an opinion to the Minister of Agriculture and
Food who orders the activation or cancellation of the disinfection measures. These orders are howe-
ver not being published. The last reports on the issue in the Bulgarian press date from the end of 2015.

[20] See Спецчасти закопчаха зрелищно митничари на ГКПП-Капитан Андреево (ОБНОВЕНА) [Special forces arrested publicly
customs officers at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint - latest news], Monitor.bg, 30 September 2016.
[21] See Шестима от арестуваните служители на ГКПП “Капитан Андреево” остават в ареста [Six of the customs officers
arrested at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing remain in detention], BNT News, 2 October 2016.
[22] See Освободиха срещу 5000 лева шестимата арестувани на „Капитан Андреево“ [The six officers arrested at the Kapitan
Andreevo released on a 5000 leva bail bond], E-Svilengrad, 24 November 2016.
[23] See Арестуваха митничари след акция на ГКПП “Малко Търново” [Customs officers arrested after an operation at the Malko
Tarnovo border crossing ], BTV News, 19 October 2017.
[24] See Петима митничари с обвинения след акцията на ГКПП “Малко Търново” [Five customs officers charged after the operation
at the Malko Tarnovo border crossing], Fakti.bg, 20 October 2017.
 Despite the always present need to be vigilant concerning the possible spread of FMD, and sheep and
goat pox, the continued compulsory preventive disinfection at the Bulgarian border cannot be justi-
fied by any public data with regard to that risk. The other EU country that has a direct border with Tur-
9 key is Greece. Upon inquiry, the Greek authorities (Greek Garden Customs Office and the Veterinary
Control Service in Evros) have confirmed to us that there is no specific directive on the disinfection of
incoming vehicles from Turkey as there is no outbreak known in the neighbouring countries of a virus
or epidemic which may be endangering public health.

The Bulgarian authorities need to provide substantial evidence that the disinfection of all vehicles
coming from Turkey is a necessary and proportional measure that has been taken for the sake of
public health.

The compulsory fee that needs to be paid is unique. While various countries have for certain periods
of time conducted preventive disinfections at their borders, we found no other case of an EU member
state that asked money for this. For example we got in touch with the Head of the Emergency Res-
ponse Department of the Lithuanian State Food and Veterinary Service. As there had been cases of
African swine flue in Belarus in 2014, we asked about the protective measures including disinfection
that had been taken by the Lithuanian authorities. All costs during that time have been covered by the
government and no one had to pay, although that had been considered.

Alleged disproportionally long waiting time at the border.

Kapikule/Kapitan Andreevo is the second busiest land border crossing in the world and the busiest in
Europe. Around 400.000 vehicles and 4 million people cross annually this border checkpoint, which
makes it an important point of entrance to the European Union. Many EU citizens of Turkish origin
return at the end of August from their holidays. This makes it a very busy period at the border. Howe-
ver, the long waiting times of up to 17 hours (!) during the last summer, are excessive and inexplicable.
They create frustration and anger. Many families with young children or elderly had to wait in the
summer heat for hours without any decent facilities being available.

I had to wait 12 A witness: Like everyone, we too have had problems with long waiting
queues at the borders. When going to Turkey we were in luck, yes only
hours to pass 3 hours of waiting at the borders is what we call luck :). When returning
we certainly had to wait for 9h straight at the Turkey/Bulgaria border.
the border
control with Another: “Unfortunately, we too had to queue for 8 hours at the Bulga-
rian border on our way to Belgium.”
three small
And; “At the Bulgarian border (on the way back to The Netherlands) we
children had to wait for seven hours, even though I was the fifth car in line. This
of nine, six is unacceptable!”

and one Or: “We went to Turkey by car, and I had to wait so long at the Bulgarian
border that my children almost dehydrated because of the heat. The
year old. Bulgarian border police creates problems out of everything.”

And: “I would like to file a complaint concerning the border control in Bulgaria. We waited for seven hours
before we got through and when it was our turn, we had to empty our car entirely. After 7 hours we were
exhausted.”
Alleged abuse by the traffic police.

There have been many reports about bribes demanded by police officers for so-called traffic viola-
tions. The fines are negotiable, have to be paid in cash, and no receipts are given. We received many
10
complaints about these practices. For fear of not getting back their passports, which they have to
hand over, most people end up paying the ‘fine’. Some stories:

“I was waiting at the red lights in Sofia to make a left towards Turkey. Immediately after the corner a po-
lice car made me stop and claimed I had passed through the red light. That wasn’t true at all. Then I had
to hand over my car documents and my passport [...] I asked the policeman what the matter was, and he
said: you have to go to Sofia to pay a 1000 EUR fine.”

And: “When driving out of Sofia I was stopped and the police asked for my documents. He took these
documents to the chief officer who then asked me whether I was Turkish or Kurdish. When I told him
that I was Turkish, he opened a little booklet and told me that I had to pay 50 EUR and that I would lose
10 points from my driver’s license.”

Another victim: “It has been like this for years. The Bulgarians are known for their ‘corba parasi’. Ripping
people off, crooked police agents and handing out fines.”

Alleged abusive pricing of road vignettes

Bulgaria, as many other EU countries, charges a toll for using its roads. A vignette can be bought eit-
her at the border or at a gas station. While the official price for a vignette is 15 Levs, many citizens tell
us that at some selling points customers are charged more. It is not always possible to pay in the local
currency, and at occasions no (or less) change is given back. Complaints received:

“Bulgaria implemented this ‘vignette system’ a few years ago, but the border police is usually asking for a
higher price than agreed. While we protested, two large guys walked towards us to intervene in the dis-
cussion. And there you are, with your family.. in Bulgaria. Just accept it, pay and on to the next incident. “

“Right after the border crossing there’s a ticket booth to buy vignettes which you need to enter the high-
way. According to the price list you have to pay 8 EUR, but I didn’t have any change and paid with a bank-
note of €10. Afterwards, I waited for the remaining 2 EUR and asked the employee “the rest please?”, but
she acted like she didn’t hear me. I left, but I will never travel through Bulgaria again.”

And; “In Bulgaria, the border police man asked for our vignette, and even while I had one he asked me
to pay 200 EUR. If I refused, he would oblige me to return to the back of the line and wait for five more
hours. I showed him my child, begged and gave him the 20 EUR he asked for.””

And: “Road vignettes are sold in a pushy manner for almost the double of what we should normally pay
for it.”

Or: “The vignettes obligation is normal as such, I cannot say anything about that. However, as these vig-
nettes are difficult to remove from the car window, we only stick them on the car window partly. Then,
at the border, the officials ask them back, so they can sell them once more (which is not completely fair
since we paid around 8 EUR for them).”

And: “As you might know, Bulgaria requires road vignettes. On the 30th of July 2017 I entered Bulgaria.
Just after the border control there were small cabins where they sell them. I wanted to pay with the
Bulgarian Lev, but they only accepted Euros. So I continued my journey, and bought a vignette instead
at the nearest Shell gas station, where I paid with Lev’s. It is ridiculous that one cannot pay with the valid
national currency, and that there is no monitoring on this.”
Annex I:
Testimonies
of EU citizens
Annex I: Testimonies
of EU citizens 12

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: I travel to Bulgaria for holidays every year, and it’s
the same story over and over again – including the
problems at the Turkish border. Everybody’s
corrupt, and this year I paid €200,00.
Kati Piri: Is this requested, and by whom? Border officials, or
police?
xxxxxxx: Police
Kati Piri: Bulgarian of Turkish?
Xxxxxx: Did you receive an invoice, and did you need to pay
at the spot?
xxxxxxx: And the Turkish police officers are racists.

Conversation
xxxxxx: 50 metres after the border crossing, it’s obligatory to
buy a vignette (which normally costs €8,00) at the Shell
gas station. If you tell them you want to pay by card,
they will increase the price up to €15,00. So in the end,
they want you to pay with a 10 euro banknote,
whereafter they will respond by saying they do not have
any change to pay you back. This is how it goes for
years now.
Kati Piri: And there were no improvements in the last few
years? According to some testimonies, there were
several improvements around 2005-2010. What was
your experience?
xxxxxx: The border police asked me to pay a bribe (€5,00) to
which I responded with the remark that I would only
be able to pay by card. Afterwards, he let me cross the
border without any payments. You know what’s the
worst? The disinfection of our vehicle, like we have
some kind of diseases. Please find the proof of the
payment below.
xxxxxxxx: Nothing changed!
Kati Piri: Thank you. I received many complaints about the
mandatory disinfection – It’s puzzling to me.
xxxxxxx: I will email you my experiences, and thanks again for
raising awareness on this issue.
Kati Piri: Many thanks for sharing it.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: On the 24th July at 07:00pm, I was on my way to
Turkey…. The moment I entered a tunnel in Sofia,
the police stopped me and forced me to pay a bribe
of €50,00. Bulgarian police….
xxxxxxxx: It happened to me, in the same tunnel. They
forced me to pay €50,00 but I got away with €20,00.
 Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Thank you for your commitment on this issue, but
systematic corruption in Bulgaria and Serbia is a daily issue.
Briberies at the border control, at the side of the road,
corruption at gas stations and so on. Bulgaria is an EU country,
so it’s time to put this to an end.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Dear Kati, all the best with this and
glad to hear that you raise awareness on EU level.
In the past, I was forced to pay bribes in Bulgaria,
Serbia, Hungary and Croatia – both at the borders
as within the country. In Bulgaria and Serbia there
are gangs of policemen who force you to stop and
pay a fine. All you want is to leave, so you cooperate
and get to an agreement concerning the amount.
It usually concerns small amounts in Bulgaria, but
there were around 17 police stations. There were
random checks, and the police officer always
convinced you that you were speeding, even while
you didn’t, asking for briberies (€5,00). In Bulgaria,
it happened to me once that fake police officers
were trying to take my passports and car registra-
tion papers. We drove away towards Sofia. Last
summer, we took an alternative route to Bulgaria
(trough Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Repu-
blic and Germany) and we had to wait 20 minutes
maximum, border policemen were friendly, we
didn’t see any police so long story short: no
problems. I will definitely take the same route next
year.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: This a picture from last year, 23rd of July. From this
point, we had to wait two more hours, while there were 3 cars in
front of us.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: We had to wait for 10 hours before we were able to
cross the borders.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: It’s a shame how the Bulgarian border
police deals with travellers – it is nerve wrecking.
The last time we crossed the border, somebody
made a picture of one of the officials while they
were talking non-stop. The consequences? We
had to wait even longer than usual, so thank you
for raising this issue and we hope things will chan-
ge for the better.
 Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The situation at the border in Bulgaria is unnecessary
and while the vignette price should be €8,00 (valid for one week),
we’re not able to buy it for less than €13,00. Custom officers are
working very slowly, the speed limit is suddenly changing and
they want to fine you for speeding. Last time, they asked me to 14
pay €150,00 but after I refused they lowered the price to €120.
However, the roads are in good condition, compared to the old
ones.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Excellent project, as I was already wondering how this
could happen within a EU country. When I entered the Bulgarian
border last year, there was a Bulgarian police officer who called
for ‘harclik’ (pocket money). On our way back, he asked for a can
of Coke.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: They didn’t return my passport, asked me to slip in
money and after I refused, they threatened to pull me over at the
side of the road and to check all my belongings one by one. Even-
tually, I did put money in the passports and everything was set.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: There’s always trouble with the Bulga-
rians, and every time we travelled to the country
they forced us to pay a bribe. They pulled me over
on the highway, I gave them my papers and told me
there was a problem and had to give him €300,00
before I could leave.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Due to the corruption at the Bulgarian border, I deci-
ded to travel through Greece in the future. Last year, they sear-
ched my car, took two carton of cigarettes, asked for a bribe of
€10,00. If I would refuse, they would send me to court in Sofia. I
do not want to cross a country with this level of corruption. Too
bad the European Union doesn’t want to change anything.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The Bulgarian officials are taking bribes.
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: We returned on 29 July, and had to pay €3,00 for the
disinfection. However, we didn’t have a one Euro coin, the border
policeman got angry, and threw the money away. Thankfully, the-
re were people behind us who gave us a one Euro coin. Further-
more, we counted and it takes up to 12 minutes before they let a
car pass the border control, while they constantly play with their
phones. And not to forget the way they look at our women – it’s
disgusting! Throw them out of the EU.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: We had to wait at the border control for a long time,
and they asked us to pay €3,00 disinfection. The feeling that they
didn’t want us, Turkish people, in their country is horrible. They
asked us for money and cigarettes. How is it possible that Bulga-
ria is part of the EU?

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: First we had to pay €3,00 for the disinfection, then we
had to deal with the fraudulent salesman to buy the vignette: I
paid €8,00, but my father in law paid €15,00 for the same vignet-
te. There is no place to buy it, policemen look like citizens and
they work slowly and in the meanwhile, there are tens of car wai-
ting in the burning sun.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: I had to pay €4,00 to disinfect my car, but with what?
Tap water?

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: On the 24th of August in Bulgaria, they asked me to
pay a bribe and if I would refuse to pay €200,00 they wouldn’t
give back my passport. In the end, I gave them €50,00. It’s the
same phenomenon – where is the EU law?

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: They are thieves, and corrupt.
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The border police in Bulgaria is corrupt, waiting lines
increase – not only for us Turks, but also for other citizens. Accor-
ding to one of my friends, you need to wait for hours.
16
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Border police is a very popular profession in Bulga-
ria, and the average wage is around 300-400 Euros per month.
However, they are able to trick the tourists into paying bribes to
increase their salaries (50 – 100 Euros extra per day). This makes
it one of the “best paid jobs” in the country.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: It’s in the middle of the night that Bulgarian police
men stop cars and pulls them to the side of the road to fine them
for speeding (without giving you a copy of the fine). They will thre-
aten you, saying that will sue you if you try to be difficult. The fi-
nes will be around €150,00 in cash, and will be divided among the
police men.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: A problem that really needs to be solved, thank you for
paying attention to it Kati. I hope it helps.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Which instruments are you going to use, Ms Piri? How
are you able to solve a problem which is going on for 30 years
now? By the way, the pulled me over to the side of the streets at
02:00h in the middle of the night because of ‘speeding’. I had to
pay €100 to his colleague who was sitting in the bushes, otherwi-
se they wouldn’t give back my passport. Of course I didn’t pay, and
drove away without my passport. But during the same night, this
happened to me two more times with the same lame excuses.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: It’s a well-known problem, going on for years now:
intimidations, long waiting lines, the ridiculous disinfection pay-
ment – while the country smells like corruption and blackmailing.
A third world country which is part of the EU, plus they don’t have
decent infrastructure and sewage system.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The vignette is being sold by private individuals in Tur-
key and Bulgaria. Once you buy these, they ask you for an invoice
at the border which you cannot show. As a result, you have to buy
it again, but again you will not receive an invoice.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: I had to pay €50.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: It’s the same story over and over again, for 50 years
now. I hope there will be a hero who’s going to solve the problem.
Conversation
xxxxxx: It’s the case for years, they steal people’s
money.
Kati Piri: Who and where, Fatih? At the border?
xxxxxx: Yes, my uncle and friend experienced it and
told me their story.
Kati Piri: And did they have to pay money? And if so, to
whom?
xxxxxx: To the border police, of course. This year,
I wanted to travel to Istanbul by car but people
advised me not to take the car. Seriously.
Kati Piri: Thank you for sharing your experience, Fatih!
xxxxxx: You too, thank you for your raising awareness.
xxxxxx: It also happened to me. They asked me to pay €500,
but I managed to only pay €200. Never again.

Conversation
xxxxxxx: Dear Kati Piri, a well-known story which is going
on for more than 30 years now. We’ve had
difficult times, and nowadays it’s much better
but still: the country is corrupt, with many
examples of mafia practices – the police and
the border police. If you want to experience the
situation, travel to Turkey with a headscarf.
Kati Piri: Thank you for the information, Serhat. I thought
there was a change within the country since it
became EU member in 2007.
xxxxxxx: Dear Kati, this country is not worthy to be part
of the EU: corruption, criminal behaviour at
the border control, they are searching your car
with the purpose to take your belongings. We
are no terrorists, we have an EU passport, we
are living in the EU for years. I’m currently at the
Bulgarian border, and will send you an email
soon. Please do something about it.

Conversation
xxxxxxx: Something, which is going on for years now:
• They work slowly, on purpose.
• There’s only one border checkpoint open, while hundreds of
cars are waiting in line.
• People have to wait for hours in the burning sun. And when it’s
finally your turn, they try to trick you into shadowy payments.
They’re using a well-known method in which they give back one
passport and asking you to slip in money. Most of the time, €5
euro is sufficient.
• Once you refuse, they will pull your car to the side of the road
for a full check to empty your car. It will take you hours.
• Whenever they do a check and find cigarettes, energy drinks or
other “interesting stuff” they will take it and keep it.
• You’re not able to say or do anything. Nobody wants to wait for
hours while your family is in the back of the car.
• While crossing the country, they stop you to fine you for ‘spee-
ding’.
• The speeding ticket will be around €100, but if you are able to
pay €50 in cash they will let you go.
• Again, you have to pay otherwise it’s your word against theirs.
There are many more complaints from my side, and we experi-
ence the same over and over again. Bulgaria is a corrupt country,
and these corrupt practices start at the border.
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: We always have to pay a €5 bribe.
Kati Piri: In your passport, at the border?
xxxxxxxx: Yes, but also on the road.
xxxxxxxx: The road speed limit in Bulgaria is 140 km/h,
and they pull people to the side of the road tel 18
ling them they will receive a ticket for speeding
(measured with an invisible radar speed camera
detector). If you don’t pay €500 immediately,
they will start threatening you.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Every time the police stopped us, they asked for mo-
ney while we didn’t do anything wrong. However, you are forced
to pay otherwise you are simply not able to continue your travel.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: They implemented this ‘Vignette system’ in Bulgaria
a few years ago. However, they asked for a 3x higher price than
agreed. While we protested, two large guys walked towards us to
intervene in the discussion. And there you are, with your family..
in Bulgaria. Just accept it, pay and on to the next incident.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Hello Ms Kati Piri, the problem with the border police
is that they are very impolite. Whenever you ask a question, they
will not answer. I got a flat tire due to nails on the highway, the
police stopped me and I had to pay €300. After we negotiated, we
reached a deal to pay €50.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Very impolite, rude, corrupt and they abuse their posi-
tion for private purposes. A Bulgarian police officer asked me to
pay a bribe (“soup money”), and after I responded with the answer
that he would be able to treat me with a cup of soup he searched
my whole car. In his position, it’s allowed of course. However, they
use is for blackmailing purposes. Furthermore, they are very
unfriendly, curse and intimidate people in Bulgarian. To me it’s
not clear how they were able to enter the EU, but that’s another
side of the story. Most Turks pay 5-50 euro to avoid the whining. I
refuse to pay, though.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Indeed, if you refuse to cooperate, they will bother you
and search your car. There are several excuses to ask for a bribe,
and it’s important to hand over the money out of camera sight
within your passport. They even take private belonging. However,
I always refuse to pay a bribe. No way!

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: People are very rude, never a big smile, and they al-
ways yell at you: ‘OPEN the car’, instead of ‘Could you please open
the door?’
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The Bulgarians close the border crossing – for 1,5
hours! – during their change of shifts. I experienced it last week
at Derekoy. There’s nothing you can do.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Dear Ms Piri, while we entered the Bulgarian border
all the border crossings were closed, as there was a change of
shifts. We had to wait for a long time: people who’re waiting in the
burning sun. I hope it will change, in the interest of all the travel-
lers and Bulgarian officials at the border.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: There’s a structural problem, for years and it occurs
every year. Problems THEY cause to make your travel more dif-
ficult. They will fine you for no reason, curse at you. However, if
you give them food or money things are solved within a moment
and you’re able to continue your travel. Or they tell you there’s so-
mething wrong with your car, and you’re not allowed to drive any
further, while nothing’s wrong. In the meantime, they will empty
your car and steal your belongings. Or they act like they’re Turkish
citizens without any money, asking you to help. Or they sprinkle
nails on the road to deliver you a flat tire and all of a sudden, the-
re’s an ANWB car to help you (asking you for a lot of money, once
they’re done). You’re powerless, so you will pay. Or while you’re at
a gas station to fuel, they force you to pay in cash. They close the
borders, and people have to wait for hours and hours. Imagine
you’re there with your family and children. It’s a disaster, and you
have to wait in the heat for hours. Why do they even close the
border crossings?

I could go on for hours. This year, a Turkish family has been bea-
ten up, a family had been kidnapped and nobody knows where
they are. For years, the Turkish people are held hostage, so this
has to stop. Turks don’t want to cause any problems at the bor-
der and want to go home as quickly as possible. We want to have
a safe travel through Bulgaria, because it’s the shortest route to
Turkey. We have the right to travel through the country, and Bul-
garia has to stop with these corrupt practices.

Anyway, good initiative! And I hope you will achieve any changes
for the better. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: I travel to Turkey by car every year, and it’s the same
over and over again. We have to wait for hours at the Bulga-
rian-Turkish border, while it only takes up to 5 minutes at the
Turkish border. Why is there such a huge difference? The cir-
cumstances are better at the Bulgarian-Serbian border, so why
is there such a huge problem with the passage to Turkey? Even
while the country is part of the EU, nothing changed. Asking
money for disinfection of vehicles, it’s terrible.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The problem exists for at least 15 years now. At that
time, the ANWB was searching for solutions. The border police
has many problems, and not enough staff. I waited for 3 hours,
and there was only one border checkpoint opened.
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: The police pulls us over every time, because we are
“speeding”. This year, we waited for 4 hours to cross the border.
They work slowly, and why do they have to disinfect our car?
20
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: We waited at the Bulgarian border crossing for seven
hours, while the border police men are drinking coffee. If they
feel like it, they will let you enter the country and if you give them
your passport, they first check if there’s any money inside. If the-
re’s nothing, they will ask for it and if you don’t give anything, they
will make you wait for hours. Never again.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: What they do to us, is inhumane. I waited with 4
children, for 15 hours. I hope you or the EU is able to do anything
about the problem. Unbelievable the EU accepted Bulgaria as a
member state.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: An officer in uniform pulled me over at the highway of
Sofia at 00:30h, because I was “speeding” (driving 87 km/h, while
60 km/h was allowed). Thereafter, a Turkish speaking Bulgari-
an came in and introduced himself as the chief, telling me I had
three options: 1. immediately pay €50 2. Pay €100 at the border
or 3. Pay €120 at each station in the Netherlands. I said I would
choose number 3, but he said I had to leave my driver’s licence
which could cause troubles during my trip. We made a deal, and
I paid €30. What else can I do? And I didn’t receive an invoice, of
course.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Dear Kati Piri, I hereby would like to send you my con-
tribution. 1) In 2002, they stopped us at the Bulgarian border with
(at that time) Yugoslavia. The Bulgarian border police man asked
if we had a beard (sakal varmi), which is apparently a code word
for tip (baksjisj). My brother started filming, and we immediately
gave a jar of peanut butter and were able to continue our trip. In
2011, they stopped us because my little sister wasn’t wearing a
safety belt in the back of the car and we received a fine of €200.
After a heated discussion and my mom who started screaming,
we paid €5.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: We waited for 9 hours at the border checkpoint. In the
past, we had to pay 5-10 Euro and everything was solved within
a split second but this doesn’t apply anymore. They are so mad,
that they take it out on the Turks and challenge us. Every vehicle
is checked which takes up to 15 minutes but it’s only a first check.
Afterwards, there are two other men who ask you to open your
bags. We both had a Belgium card, but this was not sufficient. Af-
ter a heated discussion, we were released. The traveller in front
of me had to pay €600, because he only had a Dutch card.
Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Right after the border crossing there’s a ticket booth
to buy vignettes which you need to enter the highway. According
to the price list you have to pay €8, but I didn’t have any chan-
ge and paid with a banknote of €10. Afterwards, I waited for the
€2 and asked the employee “the rest please”, but she acted like
she didn’t hear me. I left, but I will never travel through Bulgaria
again. In addition, the employee at the gas station stole two of
our handbags which costs us €450. They are very experienced.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: They showed us a picture of another car in the dark,
with the message: “neighbour, radar, you have to pay”. When we
handed over our passports, they reacted “this one is empty”.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: I experienced it this summer, together with my wife
and baby, while we entered the Bulgarian border. The border po-
lice mean asked for a vignette, and even while I had one he asked
me to pay €200. If I refused, he would oblige me to enter the back
of the line again and wait for five more hours. I showed him my
child, begged and gave him the €20 he asked for. He took my pas-
sport, took out the €20 and gave it back. The two border police
men were aggressive, and my wife got traumatized.

Conversation
xxxxxxxx: Finally somebody who’s paying attention to the pro-
blem. It’s a huge annoyance for our Turkish Europeans. I paid se-
veral bribes, and this year we paid €20 (which was the outcome of
a ‘deal’, as they first asked us to pay €200).
 22

All borders attached to Bulgaria are a disaster.

Bulgarian politics are corrupt. People lie and
deceive. On paper it is well arranged, the reality is
different.
Translation

Hi Ms. Piri,

It’s a pleasure to be able to write a Member of European Parliament.

We travelled as a family to Turkey by car this year. We had to wait at most customs in Europe, as it was busy. This is understan-
dable. However, at the Bulgarian border (on the way back to The Netherlands) we had to wait for seven hours, even though I was
the fifth car in line. This is unacceptable. The officials don’t work, they take breaks or they say that the system functions slowly!

Only when the people don’t take this any longer they start working again immediately!

I am lucky, I waited for seven hours. Some people waited for tens of hours, and they don’t know why?

Today I read in the news that you want to investigate this. I hope you pick this up, otherwise we might have to start an action that
next time we evade Bulgaria and travel through Greece instead.

Kind regards,
 Translation

Good day,

You want to know about Bulgaria? If you are traveling in the tourist season camouflaged with Turkish or Turkish family! I am a
German citizen, I needed to pay 200 € smear money until he saw my pass then apologies and good drive! We do not need to talk
about border crossings.

Translation

Dear,

I went on holiday to Turkey by car this year.

On the way back Bulgaria charged a ‘disinfection fee’ of €3.
If I did not pay this I wouldn’t be allowed to cross the border!
Personally I think this is really discriminating, because the official said that Turkey was dirty and that they were compelled to
do this.

Second, I do not want them to just spray chemical stuff or water on my car without my consent.
Third, we are living in 2017 and these kind of practices should not be happening in an EU Member State.
Fourth, if I refused to pay I would have to return of use the border crossing with Greece (which is 400 kilometres away).

I look forward to hearing what you think of this and what we can do to stop this!
Translation

Dear Kati Piri

With the entire family we went to Turkey by car to visit some family and to go on holiday. At the border crossing with Bulgaria
some water was sprayed on the car, for a so called disinfecting, and we were required to pay €3 for this.
It was really crowded on the roads, especially at the border. With his e-mail I would like to let you know that Bulgarian officials
at the border tried their best to make people wait and to make the queues longer. They just walk away while we are waiting. At
every opportunity they want money from us, threatening to examine the entire car if we do not comply.
I am hoping for some improvements.

Yours sincerely,
Translation

Dear,

Being someone who has been driving to Turkey through Bulgaria by car for years, I felt compelled to email you about the problems with the
Bulgarian police.

First, there are ‘radars’ on the roads. When the radars catch you, the police will stop you further down the road. An officer will take the driver
with them, confiscate their identity card, and won’t return it until you have paid a certain amount. This is often a very high amount, and even
if you pay it you would still have to pick up your identity card at the consulate (which is very stressful while being on holiday, since they do not
even tell you whether the consulate is open). The only way to avoid this if you drop a bank note (either €50 or €100), which the officer will put in
his own pocket. At the border there is often a problem of the border officials not doing their job properly. They often leave their working cabin,
even if there is a long queue. Also, I have seen with my own eyes that border officials took a chair and sat in front of the queue, doing nothing.
Why are they doing this? There is no good reason to do this.

The vignettes obligation is normal as such, I cannot say anything about that. However, as these vignettes are difficult remove from the car
window, we only stick them on the car window partly. Then, at the border, the officials ask them back, so they can sell them once more (which
is not completely fair since we paid around € 8 for them).

When we cross the border from Turkey into Bulgaria, the car is being sprayed on with a type of ‘disinfection’, this is mandatory. After this dis-
infection there is a payment point. The disinfection is € 3, which you are mandatory to pay. The ones who go to Turkey every year know this,
they know that the disinfection cost around € 3 and that it is mandatory to pay. On the window of the payment point a different amount is
mentioned, most people pay this price (around € 5/6), which seems to be some kind of mistake.

These are just a couple of example of the problems we encounter on our travel to and from Turkey.

Hopefully this email is helpful.

Yours sincerely,
Translation

Dear Ms Piri,

My name is , I read an article about corruption in Bulgaria.

Last year I was in Bulgaria and I witnessed with my own eyes how two English tourists were robbed by the Bulgarian police. The
boys had to empty out their pockets, upon which the police officers took their cigarettes and money for themselves. Then they
ordered the boys to continue. I did not dare to film this, but after I told this story to other tourists in our hotel I heard similar
stories from young European travellers.

I think it is ridiculous that Europe permits this, and that these practices are considered as incidents.
Tourists who are being threatened by the police, in collaboration with the Bulgarian population, is a structural problem. It would
be good if there would be a negative travel advice for Bulgaria for the time being. In my opinion Bulgaria is a very unsafe holiday
destination. As long as the Bulgarian government is looking away and does not protect its tourists, Europe should raise the
alarm. Tourists should be warned of this by our government before they go on holiday, so they know how things work in Bulgaria.
I do not understand why this is not happening until now.

There is a lot of talk about unsafety in Turkey, but it’s actually safer than Bulgaria.

Yours sincerely,
Translation

We went on holiday to Turkey from the Netherlands by car.

I had to wait so long at the Bulgarian border that my children almost dehydrated because of the heat. The Bulgarian border po-
lice creates problems out of everything. At the Turkish side of the border everything went smooth and fast. I really don’t know
what is wrong with the Bulgarian border police but they are no good at all. They think they can get away with everything. Why
do they have so much power? We are no illegals. I have the Dutch nationality but still they create problems for me. Personally I
think Bulgaria will never really be a part of Europe, it rather seems a third world country. Returning from our holiday we took the
road through Greece to the Netherlands and there everything was well organised. They have to do something about Bulgaria.
We live in 2017 and in the past it was just as bad as it is now. I really hope something will be done about it. If Bulgaria wants to be a
part of Europe they have a lot of work to do and they should indeed start with the border. I hope something will be done about it.
Translation

1) On my way to Turkey I had crossed the border from Serbia into Bulgaria on the 30th of July. Because of the slow proceedings
on the Bulgarian side of the border I had to wait three hours before I could continue my journey.

2) As you might know, Bulgaria requires road vignettes. On the 30th of July 2017 I entered Bulgaria. Just after the border control
there were small cabins where they sell them. I wanted to pay with the Bulgarian Lev, but they only accepted Euros. So I con-
tinued my journey, and bought a vignette instead at the nearest Shell gas station, where I paid with Lev’s. It is ridiculous that
one cannot pay with the valid national currency, and that there is no monitoring on this. This incident happened near the border
crossing of Dimitrovgrad (Serbia).

3) On Tuesday the 29th of August 2017 I left Turkey, to return to the Netherlands. On Wednesday around 03:00 am, I arrived in
Kapikule (Turkey). Only around 09:00 in the morning I could finally leave the last check point. The traffic jams start in Turkey
already. This is because the Bulgarian officials at the border control either do not work, or they work really slowly which means
that the cars from Turkey are unable to flow smoothly into Bulgaria.

4) Also, I have been to the Bulgarian ombudsman to complain about the “disinfecting” of the cars. This “disinfecting” process only
takes place when we drive from Turkey into Bulgaria. Crossing the border from Serbia or Romania, this does not happen at all. I
think this is a provocative policy. They even charge us for the costs. I perceive this as a replacement of income, now that most
corruption has been removed.

Every year it is the same story. Every year I encounter huge delays in Bulgaria. I also experience delays in other European coun-
tries that I travel through, but this does not happen every year. In Bulgaria the delays are part of a structural problem.

I am hoping that a permanent solution can be found for these problems.

Translation

Dear Ms Piri,

Through Facebook I heard about your plans to make an inventory of the complaints regarding the Bulgarian police, and to expose them to the
Bulgarian MEPs. I consider this a positive development, although I would not consider them complaints but violations of human rights. I will
elaborate why I argue that this is the correct term, and not complaints.

For more than fifty years Turkish guest workers/new Europeans with a Turkish background, spend their holidays in the motherland. Most of
them (over 50%) make this journey by car. This means concretely that on a yearly basis, millions of Europeans go through Bulgaria to reach the
Turkish border. To our big surprise there has been no developments over the last fifty years to improve the attitude and behaviour of Serbian or
Bulgarian officials. The infrastructure in Bulgaria has been improved, thanks to millions of EU money, but not their attitude. Even worse, it has
deteriorated when you compare it to countries as Hungary, Macedonia or Greece.

On August 12th I drove from Turkey to Greece, and then into Bulgaria. The waiting time was six hours, at this small border crossing. The earlier
border crossing from Turkey into Greece took only 20 minutes. In Bulgaria however, when it was my turn to start the negotiations about whether
I would pay extra or not, I started a discussion on the reason that we had to wait for six hours. The border control officers were not happy with
this. In total a number of three police officers came up to me, while telling me to shut up, like a dog. Also, they said that Bulgaria would decide
by themselves what they would do, and if I did not agree with that I could go away. The words ‘filthy Turks’ were used often. Also, my European
passport was nothing to them. Although they structurally threatened me I did not give in. I told them that they had to thank the EU for their
visa-free travel, and that the infrastructure was paid for by the EU. On which they stated that the only thing that counts, is the money going into
their wallet, not into that of corrupt European politicians. As said by the police.

You may know that I had this conversation while fearing for my life, in the presence of my children and my wife. I know that they do not shy away
from physical violence, and that they are life threatening. There are examples of entire families getting beaten up.

It is outrageous to conclude that some countries have to put in a lot of extra effort to attract tourists, while Bulgaria gets 2, up to 3 million ex-
tra tourists every year for free. But they treat them like animals, resulting that people only spend the minimum amount of time, and money, in
Bulgaria. Money is only spent on gas, bribes and the vignettes. Furthermore, the amount of breaks has been reduced to the minimum, which
results in a minimum amount of spending on local businesses which means the local populations does not benefit from the travellers. While at
the same time Bulgaria receives billions of subsidies.

Once more, madam Piri, after reading the above I hope that you can truly deal with these violations of the human rights. Put it on the EU agenda.
Millions of EU-citizens of European countries, who pay taxes to the EU, are being treated as animals. This has to stop.

I hope that you are able to put in the effort, and share this information with your political colleagues. Of course, if need be, I can provide more
information on the topic.
Translation

With this message I would like to file a complaint about the border control of Bulgaria. We waited for seven hours before we got
through. When it was our turn, we had to empty our car entirely. The kids had to be woken up. After 7 hours we were exhausted,
and this control took an extra hour itself. They don’t speak English, or they pretend they do not speak Turkish. They told us it
would take ages, but if we would pay some money the process would be quicker. Then they do speak Turkish suddenly. We were
treated crudely and they are not even looking at you. Something has to be done. I do not want to experience this again with my
family.
Translation

Dear madam Piri,

First I would like to personally thank you for putting in your effort with this issue.
I have been travelling for years to Turkey through Bulgaria and I have experienced many times how people travelling on holiday
by car are experiencing problems on their way to Turkey.

The problems begin at the border crossing of Hungary to Serbia, the waiting times take too long and there are no information
signs at the border crossing which makes it difficult for the travellers. There is also no access to clean toilets, showers or rest
rooms. The following border crossings also suffer from these flaws: Serbia-Bulgaria, Bulgaria-Greece, and Bulgaria-Turkey.

Not enough staff: mostly in the evening shifts and during the change of shifts, and during lunch or dinner all work stops, which
cannot be accepted. Also, some border officials are really slow whereas others are much more efficient!
What I noticed since last year is that at these border crossings, all passports need to be scanned. This causes longer waiting
times, which means more irritations and impatience among the travellers.

To get some attention for this matter I send an email to the EU at the beginning of this year (to a unit that deals with borders
etc.), but I quickly got a negative reply.

In the past I wrote to the ANWB (Dutch tourist union), if they can help people. But they declined too. I wrote to the NOS (the Dutch
television) if they could make a short news item about it, or a small documentary. They declined too!!
I have asked multiple big car importers if they want to make a project about it, they had no interest.
Finally I asked Turkish TRT, but they did not even reply.

Since 1992 I have travelled by car to Turkey, 24 times, using different routes. Is there an office which I can turn to? To make some
recommendations or remarks.

I hope to hear from you.

Yours sincerely,
Translation

Dear reader,

In the appendix you can find a small clip of the border of Bulgaria. As you can see, we were waiting for one hour without a single
car getting checked.

After a long wait I decided to make a video. One of the border officials decided to check the car shortly after I started recording.

After one minute you can hear someone whistling to me, calling “shh”, “awoo” to get my attention. I had recorded what I wanted
to record, therefore I ended the recording. The person who was calling me asked for my passport, because he saw me recor-
ding. Presumably, he would have asked me to delete the video before returning my passport.

I did not give my passport to this man, and went back behind the waiting cars, back to my own spot.

I saw the gentleman walking around all the platforms, probably looking for me.

What I noticed as well, which you probably cannot see in the video, is that they are smoking cigarettes while doing the car
checks.

I thank you for taking these issues seriously. Hopefully I have given enough information with this video.

Yours sincerely,
Translation

It’s always the same misery at the Bulgarian border, especially during the summer holiday.

Long waiting times, (12 hours is quite normal) and if one honks it can take longer on purpose. It’s the same misery travelling into
and out of the country. On the way back you even go through a ‘disinfection gate’ at first, where they sprinkle your car with liquid
of which you don’t even know what it is. For this you pay €3 to €5 (for something nobody is asking for), no other country does
that. When you are through passport control, three meters further up someone awaits who demands to open your luggage.
When that is dealt with, five meters after that someone asks to open your luggage again and asks if you have anything to decla-
re. If you say no, they dive into your luggage themselves to check it once more. And all of that one by one, every car. And how
rude they are. If you give them money, you can move on.

We have a long way to go and unnecessary waiting is already too much. These people have never heard about a little respect.

There is so much more that goes wrong, a book should be written about it: Police who make you stop along the way saying you
were supposedly speeding (first you have to pay money or they don’t return your passport). Rob you on the way: we barely dare
to stop on the way in Bulgaria; just drive on and hope your care doesn’t break down and you don’t run into a policeman. Even the
civilians rip you of: they ask at the gas stop and shops more converted money than it actually costs.

I hope there will be action from the European Commission. Normal travellers are being exploited and are made to wait unne-
cessarily.
 Translation

Dear Kati Piri,

The border officials always ask money. Sometimes €5, sometimes up to €100, otherwise you cannot go through.

Greetings,

Translation

Yes, unfortunately it also happened to me. 03 August 2017. I also crossed the border in Bulgaria. We waited for a long ten hours.
The border control police asked me for money. I had to put €10 in the passport...
Translation

Hello Ms. K. Piri,

We are Dutch Turks with two nationalities. This year we went to Turkey by car, through Serbia and Bulgaria. At those two coun-
tries we always have to wait for a long time at the borders. From Turkey to Bulgaria we even had to pay €4 per car for so called
‘disinfection’. I also think this is a shame, because the car got covered in dirty water, the stains of which were very hard to get off.
Bulgaria has had a problem at the borders for years, the same goes for Serbia.

In total we had to wait 9 hours to get in and out of Bulgaria. In Serbia and Hungary that was 3.5 hours.
I hope you do something about this

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Kati,

Ever since the first generations of the Turks in Europe we have been the victim of corrupt policemen of these countries, namely
Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria.

On YouTube there is plenty evidence that has been gathered over the years.

Fines made up on the spot dealing with speed limit violations are one of the most common examples.

That this problem is brought up in 2017 is very sad, but better late than never.

Improvement on the Bulgarian border is very necessary.

Good luck with fixing this problem.

Translation

Dear,

Countries on the Balkan in general have a very bad name, but Bulgaria is the worst. People that go to Turkey by car have this ex-
perience: When you leave Austria you leave civilization and when you enter Turkey you find yourself in a civilised country again,
where there are normal rules as in the rest of Europe.

Depending on how nice your car is policemen in Bulgaria asses how high the fine is that you have to pay. Often a moment of
hassling over the height of the fine follows. An acquaintance who owned a BMW 7 series had to pay 1000 euro’s. After a brawl and
hassling this was lowered to 400, or else they would create problems that could have taken days or would even have led to prison
time. They threatened to ‘suddenly’ find something in their car, probably something they would plant themselves.

This was a couple of years ago though. After this story I and many other chose to avoid the Balkan countries as much as possible
by flying to Turkey. Airplane tickets are cheaper than driving anyway.
Translation

Dear Ms. Piri,

It is a good thing you are raising awareness on the situation at the Bulgarian border.
There are long waiting lines at the Bulgarian border. Once you are finally through the line the officer makes you wait again, as
he or she is on a break.
Their attitude is really intimidating.
Nowadays the ‘soup money’ demands have decreased but now you have to pay for the ‘cleaning’ of your car though.
The roads at the border are in very bad shape and you really have to look where you drive or you’ll end up with a flat tire.
There are enough people that can confirm these stories.

You can always contact me for questions.

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Ms Kati Piri,

I am a German Turk and I drive to Turkey every year.

As every year, we have complaints about Bulgaria.

It cannot be that a country that has been in the EU for 10 years, always acts like this. The border police is very slow in letting
people through. We have to pay for the car getting disinfected. From some they take €4, from other €3 for example. Turkey
has a much better border crossing than Bulgaria, although Bulgaria has been in the EU for 10 years. We ask for help because
something has to change. At present, fellow citizens are held by Bulgarian officials and beaten without cause. Officials are cal-
ling for bribes. Bulgaria should adapt to the European standards or leave the EU. We ask for a solution of this widely publicized
European problem.

Best regards
Translation

Hello Kati,

The police opened my trunk at the Bulgarian border crossing to Turkey to inspect it. That is normal, but the customs control
officer put his head in the trunk and then asked me a fee of €10. That is outrageous!

I was waiting at the red lights in Sofia to make a left towards Turkey. Immediately after the corner a police car made me stop and
claimed I had passed through the red light. That wasn’t true at all. Then I had to hand over my car documents and my passport,
after which the policeman went to sit in his car, closed the window and threw the documents in the glove cabinet. I waited
outside and knocked on the window. I asked the policeman what the matter was, and he said: you have to go to Sofia to pay a
€1000 fine. He knew well enough that we can’t do that because we don’t even know where to go. Then he suddenly said you have
to pay €500 here. To this I responded that I can’t pay. I don’t have that amount of money in cash, as I pay normally by card. After
I explained that he began to threaten me that I had to pay or he wouldn’t let me go. Finally I had to pay him €150. I asked him why
he didn’t write a fine and he took out a booklet from the glove cabinet and gave me a piece of paper with €150 written on it, but
without anything saying that it was by the police.

After that he gave me back my documents and I quickly moved to Turkey.

You can’t do anything over there, you’re powerless there. The only thing you think is that you want to get out there as quickly as
possible.
I had two children of 4 and 6 in my car and my wife. You can’t do anything there. The children started to cry out of fear, so the only
solution is to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Just imagine how many cars are stopped there and the fines they receive which they just put into their own pockets.

I thank you.

Regards,
Translation

Dear Kati Piri,

The fourth of August 2017 at 10:00. After six hours of waiting it was finally our turn.
We had to exit the car and it was fully emptied. It is perfectly normal that they check my car. I do not mind that at all, but one of
them damaged my car with a cart. At that moment I told him: hey, what are you doing? I didn’t receive an answer at all. ‘Sorry’,
he said, and he walked away.

After he walked way I called him, saying ‘what now? You scratched my car with the cart’, to which he answered: yeah sorry we are
only human’. Despite their ‘slack’ behaviour I stayed calm and asked if he could file a damage form. His answer was no.

Subsequently the same guy called the so called ‘highway police’. After waiting for half an hour the highway police came who also
didn’t how to fix it.
Despite that I stayed calm and asked who his boss or chef is, that I wanted to speak to him. Then there came a big guy ‘ Nikoway
Rusev’.

With him we talked in English and he literally said: If an accident would have been the case, they would have filed the form, but
because it is a scratch they can’t do anything and also can’t fill in the damage form. We weren’t allowed to take pictures or else
they got angry and had to remove them immediately, but we made a few anyway.
To make a long story short, I left there angrily. It is very sad that a country like Bulgaria, a so called European country, deals with
people from Europe like this.

I’m tired of the fuss with Bulgaria. Every year I hear these type of stories and much more. ‘Fake police’ or organised gangs that
consciously cause accidents to extort you. When you are in such a country you can’t do anything! This goes as well for Serbia.
From experience I can tell you that Serbia and Bulgaria are very hypocritical and sly.
Within Serbia and Bulgaria it happens every year, every year mayor accidents happen there, mainly with European Turks.
I know my story has no use but I wanted to share this anyway.
If you require pictures I can show those as well.

Regards,
Translation

Dear Kati,

A few weeks ago I returned from Turkey with my family to the Netherlands.
Once we arrived at the Bulgarian border they made us wait almost six hours while it was 45 degrees outside.
After waiting for hours and first paying €5 because they had to ‘wash’ the car, after that we then paid another €15 for a vignette.
So far the costs.

Later we were driving on a dark road where it is hard to drive fast and we were forced to stop because there was a policeman
on the middle of the road.

Off course he started to speak Turkish with my husband and asked him to get out of the car with his car registration and pas-
sport.

After my husband got out of the car and went with him, the policeman quite casually asked if he could pay €60 or €80.
When my husband asked why he should pay this, he couldn’t say so. My husband said he didn’t have more than €15.
This the policeman accepted and we could move on.

So there had been not a single reason to stop us.

This has been going on for years and years. Hopefully something is done about it because it is preposterous that a country is in
the EU and still rips of people for money.

I hope this gives you an idea of what we have to deal with.

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Ms. Piri,

On Facebook I saw a post on the long waiting times at the border with Bulgaria. This is nothing new. For years European Turks
that go to Turkey by car have had to deal with long lines. Not only Bulgarians, also Serbian, Greeks and Macedonians all make
a fuss and take a long time before letting us cross the border. We have both the Dutch and the Turkish nationality. At border
crossings we use the Dutch nationality, but it still takes a very long time.

Example summer 2016:

In Bulgaria our luggage was checked. It is like roulette. You never know why they pick you and what they are looking for. We smo-
ke nor drink. Entire suitcases are opened and emptied. After ten minutes they say it is okay en we can leave, but before that we
are packing for another 30 minutes. This creates long extra waiting times for the people behind us. Besides this they ask us for
‘corba’ which means soup in Turkish but in reality they mean money. If we say we do not have cash with us, they ask for Red Bull, a
pack of cigarettes etc. When you do not give them anything, you can wait along the side of the road. If you give them something,
the system keeps working like this.

I don’t have a clue why I wrote this all down. I don’t think you’ll do anything with it. But I did what I could.

With kind regards,

Translation

Good evening Ms. Piri,

I have recently seen the post on Facebook that you want to fix the problems of the Turkish Dutchmen at the Bulgarian border.

Yes, it is true, we have to go through a lot of trouble there and the problem has been going on for more than 20 years. I’ve heard
from my grandfather’s fathers family members. We always have to wait for hours because they don’t do their work and there are
also many fake policemen who want to rob us. When we drive from Turkey into Bulgaria our cars are ‘washed’ on purpose so they
don’t get Turkish soil on their territory. These are all provocations to anger us. Recently a German/Turkish family was physically
abused without reason.

I ask you please help us with these problems. We go through this every year, people are tired of it. We’ve had times that we
had to wait for 11 hours while it was 40 degrees outside. We would really appreciate it if you could help us. Many Turkish Dutch
citizens think so as well. So far, no one has done anything about it. We trust you will work on it and I hope for a good conclusion.
Translation

Thursday 17/8 I arrived around 23:00 at the Turkish-Bulgarian border, at Kapikule. After around 10 hours of waiting I finally ma-
naged to enter Bulgaria.
I did not experience trouble. Neither did my fellow travellers. De waiting line however was so long due to the Bulgarian border
police.

The Turkish border has about 10 active gates. The proceedings run smoothly. Unfortunately things slow down further on, becau-
se before it is possible to enter Bulgaria all personal vehicles have to:
1. Be disinfected. (For which there are only two gates available).
2. Pay for disinfection. (Same amount of gates).
3. Endure passport control. (About 5 available gates).
4. Endure baggage control. (Same amount of available gates).

I understand the need for controls. But:

1. The disinfection is pointless. Some water is sprinkled on the cars and the wheels get wet.
2. A small fee has to be paid for this service which is ridiculous but mostly time consuming.
3. The 10 transit gates of the Turkish border are reduced to two transit gates which results in a traffic jam.
4. The control of the baggage is done very carelessly and thus loses its purpose and only results in more lost time.

A few remarkable situations I personally encountered in the long waiting line:

• A lorry with frozen products was in line even longer than I.
• And elderly woman fainted.
• A young lady had to relieve herself publicly (along the highway).
• A sick child had to be carried away by ambulance in the opposite direction.
• Two brawls and several verbal arguments.

Both countries should work in a constructive manner to occupy the border posts better and maybe to develop/extend them.
Translation

Dear Kati Piri,

Could you please finally put a stop on those failures (Bulgarian cops). They are not only arrogant but also very corrupt. They
certainly don’t respect the Dutch passport because last holiday the officer threw away my passport just like that. We are really
treated like garbage by Bulgarian policemen even though we have the Dutch nationality. Also, a lot of unjustified fines on the
road, false accusations and so on.

Kind regards,
Translation

Last summer holiday (6 July - August) I also have made the trip to Turkey by car.
On the way there we drove through Greece to avoid Bulgaria. A detour of 253 km and about 3 hours.
The reason why we always travel through Greece, besides the beautiful route that takes you along the coast to Kavala, is that
the horror stories about the Bulgarian border control are actually true.
On the way back we had to return to The Netherlands as fast as possible because of a family issue. We decided to take the route
through Bulgaria.

When you approach the Bulgarian border crossing Kapitan Andreevo through the Turkish border crossing Kapikule, you first
have to drive your car through a well to disinfect the bottom. No other border crossing on the routes between Turkey and Wes-
tern Europe apply this regime. The disinfection costs €3.
After that there are border officials who try to overcharge the road vignette for €10. The vignette normally coasts 15 Lev, about
€7,50. At the customs they demand, besides the passports, the vehicle registration as well. No other border crossing asks for
this. After that they ask for the green insurance card and when you hand it you get the remark that it is incomplete. With incom-
plete they mean that they want a bill of €5.

I did not give this bribe, which resulted in the remark that they would look through my baggage. When I answered that they were
free to do so, he backed down and quickly let me pass. After I had passed the window about two meters another custom control
officer came up. He wanted to know how many cigarettes I had with me, I don’t smoke so that didn’t take long.
Because of the ‘good’ start of the trip through Bulgaria I did not stop on the transit, except for a stop at the second gas station
after the border crossing to buy a vignette. Costs: € 7.65 as a consequence of me paying by card.
On the other side at the border with Serbia it took 35 minutes before I passed the Bulgarian border passage even though there
were only two cars in front of me. The reason for this was the border official who had to do other ‘ business’ and kept talking to
people on her mobile phone.

Again I was asked for the vehicle registration besides the passports and to the vignette. When I showed her how I had applied
the vignette neatly on my front window I was asked for the proof of purchase. When I showed her the receipt she was not happy
to see it and I got the remark that I was quite a smart Turk.
My brother waited 7 hours before the Bulgarian border and the car was turned inside out. Reason for the search: he refused to
pay a bride.

Never again Bulgaria for me. Greece will be my regular route, if necessary through Italy and then on the boat to Izmir, but never
again through Bulgaria.
Translation

Hi Kati,

I have personally waited for hours at the Turkish-Bulgarian border. This was due to the Bulgarian border police. I waited about
5 hours for nothing. This is abnormal. Bulgaria is even a member of the European Union, ridiculous. I don’t understand how the
EU officials have made Bulgaria an EU member.
Personally I hope this problem is resolved as fast as possible and that I will be treated like a European citizen in the future.

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Ms. Kati Piri,

In response to a message on Facebook on the Bulgarian border police which the page ‘The Young Turks’ shared I am writing you.

First I want to say I am happy with the action you want to undertake in the European Commission. I am not aware if anyone has
brought attention to this in the past, but it hasn’t made a large impact anyhow.

My experiences at Bulgaria’s border are very negative. Here follow a number of nasty experiences I personally went through.

• As a norm you money (10, 20 euro’s) is asked at the passport control. I you don’t give it, they make you wait or take the lug-
gage out of your car. Then you have to put everything back in.
• Policemen that are checking the roads for traffic violations between small villages. I have wrongly received a fine a couple
of times while I was under the speed limit. They ask for the passports to check, and of course you give it. Next, when I ask
for proof of speeding, they can’t show it. Then they don’t want to give an official fine, but ask for money. If you don’t give the
money, you don’t get your passport. So they make you give the money.
• At the checks near the border the luggage is checked. I experienced a few times that the border police just takes food or
drinks from the car, because he doesn’t ‘trust’ what’s in there.
• Behaviour towards the travellers. They show very aggressive behaviour.
• Long waiting lines that are caused by making travellers wait too long.

These are about de problems travellers in general experience. It’s very annoying when you’ve already made so many kilometres.

You show a valuable dedication to the travellers. This will certainly be appreciated.
I hope something is done with it.

Good luck!

Regards,
Translation

Dear Ms. Kati Piri,

I am writing in reference to your Facebook message about the Bulgarian border police, which is shared on the website ‘De Jonge
Turken’.

Let me start by saying that I’m pleased with the actions you’re willing to take within the European Commission. I am not sure if
anyone paid attention to it before but if so, it didn’t have a huge impact.

My experiences at Bulgaria’s border are very negative, please find a few examples below:
• Every time you cross the border, they will ask for bribes (10/20 euros) at the passport control. If you refuse to pay, they will
let you wait or take the luggage out of your car.
• I’ve been pulled over a few times and received several speeding tickets, while I was driving below the maximum speed. They
ask to hand over your passport, which I always did. If you ask the police to provide any evidence of the speeding offence,
they are not able to show you anything. They simply decline, and ask for money. However, if you don’t want to pay, they will
keep the passport so in the end you are obliged to pay.
• Everyone arriving at the border crossing is subject to inspection of the luggage. However, under the guise of ‘unsafe food’
and without asking they take out food from the cars.
• Aggresive behaviour against travelers.
• Due to the fact that they let people wait for hours, waiting lines are enormous.

As a traveller, these are the problems you face at the border checks and which are very annoying.

Thank you for your contribution to this project. Your investment in time and energy is appreciated by all the travellers – I since-
rely hope it will be relevant.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxx
Translation

Dear Kati,

I understand that you want to know what is actually happening at the Bulgarian border. Well, I can describe the situation in one
word: killing!

Every year, there are thousands of European citizens waiting for over 15 hours in the heat to cross the border. These people
need to be back on time for work, school or whatsoever but the borders checks block the traffic flow and cause extra delays in
neighbouring countries, such as Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. I kindly request you to raise awareness on this matter within the
European Parliament.

For example, during out outward journey we had to wait for two hours at the Bulgarian border – at 05:00h in the morning –, while
there were only 30 vehicles in front of us. Civil servants were asking us for bribes. The moment you point the camera on them,
they ‘act’ as if they add personal data to their files. However, they’re not and the moment the cameras are switched off, they sit
back and relax.

On our way back to the Netherlands, we decided to take a detour to avoid the Turkish-Bulgarian border. A good decision, but it
took us many more hours to get home.

I would love to hear your research findings.

Regards,
xxxxxxx
Translation

We’ve been waiting for four hours already (photo attached).

Translation

Dear Kati,

I saw your Facebook message yesterday, and would like to share my personal experience.

We’ve been waiting up for 13 hours at the border to be allowed entry, and we’re still on our way to the Netherlands. I will send you
an extensive email when I get home. This is the last time we will cross the Bulgarian border by car. Never again. What a horrible
day.

Regards,
xxxxxxxxxxx

Translation

Dear Ms Piri,

I wish that the EU border crossing between Turkey and Bulgaria would be more humane and that people would meet the Euro-
pean directives !!!

It cannot, and should not be that – in the current digital and modern time – you need between 4 – 16 hours to cross the border.

This needs to change!!!!!!!

We all work in EU countries and pay our taxes with the purpose that every EU country is able to reach the EU standards, like
Germany France and Holland.

Something has to change, and it’s up to you to force a breakthrough. I do not want to hear excuses like, illegal refugee coming
from Turkey, as no refugee would travel to Europe is there was no war.

Sincerely
Translation

Dear madam Kati,

When we returned to Belgium, we had to wait at the border crossing for hours. And while we were waiting, there was this border
policemen who suddenly punched our car, screaming ‘idiot’ towards us. We didn’t react, as we didn’t want to wait any longer.
However, it was one of the most frightening experiences we had this year. I hope something will change.

Kind regards,
xxxxxxx
Translation

Dear Nienke,

I see you made an effort, thank you for that. As a Dutch citizen, I never understood why the Dutch government didn’t intervene
to solve the problem. And therefore, I hope you are able to make a difference.

A few other complaints I would like to share with you:

• The waiting lines at the border. I have three children (9, 6 and 1 year(s) old) and last time we had to wait up to 12 hours.
• Every half an hour, Bulgarian civil servants allow one car to enter the country which creates traffic jams.
• What if we didn’t bring any food? In that case we would’ve been forced to give up our spot to buy food, and move to the
back of the row.
• The civil servants – without exaggerating – threat us like dogs.
• I’m quite assertive and able to express myself in English, however, these people abure their position of power.
• You are forced to keep your mouth shut, and do as they say.
• Isn’t this unacceptable?
• Being forced to pay bribes are commonplace.
• However, it’s a matter of persistance because if you comply to this, they still take advantage of you.
• If you not comply, they ask you to park and empty your vehicle – just to annoy you.
• We always have to pay
• Concerning the vignette, you have to pay 1 euro extra. It would be step forward if we would be able to buy the stickers at the
ANWB.
• Change will be returned in Bulgarian LEV, which is not worth halve the price of the Euro.

Thank you for your attention, and I hope you’re able to find a solution.
Translation

Dear Ms. Piri,

For years, citizens are travelling through Bulgaria and are threated in a non-EU way. Police officers are scaring travellers, and
the country still feels like a ‘risk country’ to many of them. If a traffic controller stops you, you have to pay a fine up to €1000 and
only after negotiation the price will go down to 50-100 Euros. If you refuse to pay, they will threaten you to bring you to court.
However, many drivers are tired and want to move on as fast as possible. Are there any other EU countries where you are obliged
to disinfect your car, and pay €3 – while you not receive any change? In addition, vignettes are mandatory in Bulgaria and the
prices differ: sometimes it costs €9, sometimes €12. We would be very pleased if you could find a solution together with the
Bulgarian government.

Kind regards,
Translation

Hello Ms. Piri,

I am of Turkish descent and was born in Istanbul. I have been living in Germany since 1980. Since my childhood we always went
to Turkey by car. Now I am old enough, I travel with my own car through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Turkey
and it takes around 25 – 30 hours to get to the Turkish border. Much better compared to the past, when it took us 3 days and 3
nights to get there. But since the highways, things changed for the better.

My friends live near the Iranian border, and we experience many problems, especially in Bulgaria. I am not against border con-
trols, but I do have a problem with the Bulgarian police who always treat us like we’re criminals. Our trips are long, and causes
us stress – especially at the borders.

Ms. Kati, if you would have the possibility to eliminate these problems, we would be very grateful. The same goes for other EU
citizens. Why should we be checked in every EU country? This creates traffic jams and waiting lines for nothing.

In Bulgaria we have to buy expensive vignettes, but why aren’t we able to buy these in Germany for example?

I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to share our problems with you and wish you all the best for the future.
Many thanks.

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Madam,

In reference to your Facebook message, I would like to inform you that I experienced many problems at the Bulgarian border
control.

1. Corruption
2. Blackmailing
3. Threats
4. And simply not doing their jobs

Unless you slide 20 euros in your passport, the border policemen will force you to take everything out of your car. Besides this,
they will take your food and other belonging, are intimidating to young women, force you to stop at the highway and demanding
you to pay a fine for speeding, even while they don’t carry a laser speed gun. How is it possible that this country is part of the
European Union?

Thank you, and have a good evening.

Translation

Dear Ms. Kati Piri,

Thank you raising this matter in the European Parliament. On 09.09.2017, we travelled through Bulgaria to Germany and had to
pay €3 for the disinfection at the border crossing between Turkey and Bulgaria. Please find the invoice attached, and I hope you
will be able to solve the problem.

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Kati Piri,

Hereby, I would like to share my experiences during my travels through Bulgaria in the past few years. I truly hope it will be
addressed accordingly. Bulgaria, on the one hand, isn’t interested while the EU, on the other hand, doesn’t do anything – an
impression I have for a number of years now.

It all started with the DKS card, which is used as payment card most commonly for fuel at gas stations. Close to the gas stations
there’s a sign saying you can pay with the card at that certain gas station, but once you want to use it, employees decline. They
only want to see cash…

Furthermore, they close the roads without a warning – I experienced it twice, last two years. Whenever there’s an accident, I
fully understand the road will be closed. However, this time there was a small accident in front of me, and only one car was in-
volved. They close the roads immediately, while there’s no alternative route. You just have to see how you continue your journey
but when there’s only one decent road to Sofia, it’s quite inconvenient. This is why I drove about 120 km in three hours, using
these local roads (full of holes).

And then there are other roads where the police stops you and tries to convince you that you were speeding. A police man will
tell you that 40-60 km/h is the maximum speed, while you are driving on a normal highway. How come? This has nothing to do
with traffic safety and is only meant for car drivers to be bugged! The locals drive the normal speed and aren’t stopped! These
are straight roads were you have to slow down to prevent a speeding ticket.

Disinfection at the border crossing? A dirty splash of water over your car for which you have to pay 3 euro’s? It’s just legal theft,
just calculate it when every driver has to pay this amount.

At the border crossings it’s very difficult to buy a vignette. Last year, they allowed me to enter the highway without a vignette, so
luckily I didn’t run into the police. At a gas station, I paid €15 for a vignette, and the employee left. I waited for 30 minutes, waiting
for the vignette. This year, I paid €10, and didn’t receive any change. What’s the price? It’s not clear.

At the border crossing they check the cars in an excessive way, forcing you to remove all your belongings, which is more or less
a form of bullying. They check your passports, which takes hours… they just look at it, without doing anything.

This year, I drove into a small hole on the road and when I immediately took an exit to a parking lot, an ‘ANWB’ car was waiting...
Coincidence? Or on purpose? I think the latter.
At the border there are these so-called rapporteurs, who interview travellers. I filed a complaint, two years go, but nothing
happened.

We’re talking about an EU country.. Unfortunately.

Translation

Dear Kati Piri,

We unfortunately have to go through Bulgaria to Turkey. Every year the situation is always hard and inhumane. We hope you will
and can help us.

Thanks,
Translation

Hello Ms. Piri,

First I’d like to thank you for trying to point out this problem at the European Commission.

I returned by car from Turkey three weeks ago. My outward journey was without too big annoyances with maybe some short
waiting times, 2-3 hours).

The way back was a somewhat harder. We waited for 8 hours at the Turkish-Bulgarian border where the customs officials ac-
tually tried to do their jobs (with badly timed changes of guard) but what annoyed me the most was that I had to pay €10 for the
‘disinfection’ of my car with cheap dishwashing soap. When I went there in 2002, also by car, they did exactly the same but back
then they made us drive through a pool of muddy water and some customs official hosed a little hose water over our car. Good
thing that they have now build/bought an entire installation for that.

Road vignettes are sold in a pushy manner for almost the double of what we should normally pay for it.

Other than that I have nothing to report.

Thank you for your dedication.

Kind regards,
 Translation

Dear Ms Piri
I have such observations when I went through Bulgaria.

1. Tolls to numbers is big problem. This is to be collected in customs territory by officials. Tanks, etc. are almost 2 to 3 euros
more cash.
2. Customs officers always open the switches later when a lot of cars are queuing up.

with kind regards

Translation

Dear Kati Piri,

Thank you for your attention for the vacationers in Bulgaria. Unfortunately I would like to tell you about the chaos on the Bulga-
rian border and about how the police makes life difficult for the vacationers. I have been living in Germany for 50 years and for
my vacation I drive 3500 km. I always feel fear in Bulgaria, even nowadays. Without reason the people are deliberately stopped,
and cars are rigorously searched. You never see it in Europe like this that the people are deliberately stopped and they want
bribes. When no one gives it they just wait hours without doing anything. I have always asked myself why Bulgaria is like this. It
always continues. We gave them what they want: democracy. Unfortunately Europe does nothing against this. When holiday
goers go through Bulgaria they are treated like slaves. It is about time attention is paid to Bulgaria and justice will be served
for the vacation goers. Every car that wants to cross the border has to wait many hours without cause. There are families and
children there and they suffer. You also have to pay for stupid things and they don’t give change. If you could do anything about
that millions of people would thank you.

Regards,
A normal citizen
Translation

Dear Ms,

Thank you for your support for our yearly problem at the border of Bulgaria!
When we arrive we usually have a whole lot of problems, you could possibly experiment and take the same route that most
Belgian-Turks take every year...

Best regards,

Translation

Dear Ms. Piri,

Both on the Bulgarian border and the Serbian border I was harassed and insulted!
I was asked to covertly pay a bribe by putting it in the documents. Another official asked whether I had any sweets or chocolate
and demanded I give it to him!
Of course there are many other issues to tell but I’ll keep it short.

I thank you for your endeavour and which you the best of luck.

Kind regards,
Translation

Intimidation and corruption is present in all Balkan countries (Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria). I have experienced this
year that a Serbian official was asking from his cabin, in some English and Turkish words, if my luggage was ok and whether I
had to declare something (as such a normal question). After having declared nothing, he asked if I had Cola, Fanta, Red Bull or
other refreshments for him. Despite I had this, I said no resolutely. The official though it was a catastrophe that I did not give
him anything to drink. Then he asked again a couple of times if my luggage was ok, in an intimidating manner. In the end I was
allowed to pass through. So far the Serbian border police.

My experience with the Bulgarian police in the last years has been similar. Literally asking for ‘tips’, cartons of cigarettes, ope-
ning the trunk and asking for tools for him to take. Those that make a fuss are asked to park the car on the side and empty the
car completely.

After that we arrived in Macedonia and the situation there is not different. I haven’t had a summer that the Macedonian officials
didn’t ask for money. After the official gets the necessary documents to check, they always ask from their booth if I can’t put a
few Euros in there. I answer a clear ‘NO’ and often get my documents returned with an angry gesture and after that am allowed
to move on.

After the border there is a part of provincial road where you can only do 40 km/h. On this part of the road I was stopped on the
top of a hill, without being scanned by the officer (which was impossible, because his car was parked after the highest part of
the road and I was immediately stopped when I drove there on the highest area. He had just finished stopping another car and
jumped on the road to stop the next car, and that was me. I didn’t even do 60 km/h, but he showed me the screen on his scanning
machine which said 97 km/h. He asked me in an intimidating manner to follow him with my travel and cars documents. He took
me to his police place (a wooden cabin) and I had to follow him into his room. He sat at his desk and took out a briefcase and in
there was a book. As far as I could tell it was a book with traffic violations with a whole arrange of tables (in their own language).
In broken Turkish he said I had driven 57 km/h too fast and showed me a table in his booklet that said that meant a few hundred
Euro. Then he put the booklet back, sat back and said in an intimidating manner “so what are we doing now, Komşu”. Komşu
is Turkish and means neighbour. I tried to defend myself by saying I wasn’t driving that fast, to no avail. I suggested that €50 is
enough and he accepted that without a doubt.

So far my story. I would like to thank you again for your dedication!

Kind regards,
Translation

Hello Ms. Piri,

I just read your call on the social network on the transit through Bulgaria and wanted to write you about my experience. I travel
through this area for years and have always had to wait for long times at the Bulgarian border. The waiting times I think have
been influenced by the border officials. The behaviour of the officials was always cold and distanced. Since 2 years a lot of bri-
bes have also been demanded, that means for example I had to go through 4 booths and was asked by the officials to pay 5 euro
‘drinking money’. When someone doesn’t pay you have to wait longer.
What is also strange, is that the change of guard takes between 30 and 45 minutes and that in this time no car is checked. Many
officials just take around 15 minutes longer to control the next vehicle. Last year my cigarettes were taken, even though I only
had two and I had to sign a document in the Bulgarian language. I also do not understand the disinfection of cars, so sprinkling
a little water they require 3 euro (on the receipt) but the thing costs 4 euro? The sign posts around the capital Sofia is also very
bad. As an experienced driver I have difficulties to orientate myself.

I could tell you more, but those are the things the officials do. When I have the opportunity I will mostly circumvent Bulgaria. I
hope you can do something about this situation!

Thank you for your understanding

Kind regards,
 Translation

Good day, madam.

This year I went to turkey with my car. I waited at least 10 hours at the Bulgarian customs gate on the way to the Kapitule. There
were miles of queues. The customs office was trading and there are thousands of people on the road who are victims like me.
Please help us. Children are getting sick while waiting, our cars are failing and there is a lot of air pollution at the same time.

I am already grateful to you. Thank you so much..

Translation

Hello Kati,

Two years ago we went on vacation in Turkey. When we went back to The Netherlands through Bulgaria the Bulgarian police
scammed us. We had to stop at 01.00h and we had to go back all the way to Sofia to put 250 leva on the bank, or pay €20 in cash
to the corrupt Bulgarian official. We had no choice and we were ripped off by the Bulgarian police.

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Kati,
Good luck with this action.

It is a good thing that there is attention for this on EU-level.

In the past I’ve had to pay bribes in Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Croatia both at the border and in the inland. In Bulgaria and
Serbia there are gangs of policemen who stop you for whatever reason and want to give you a fine. You want to get rid of it as
fast as possible and get to an agreement over the height of the bribe. In Bulgaria it’s usually over small amounts. Before there
were through the whole route in Bulgaria 17 police posts. You were stopped randomly and the police officer always said you had
been speeding, even if you didn’t actually drive too fast, and immediately asked for ‘soup money’. That was 5 euro back then. In
Serbia my children were once threatened in the middle of the night, then you give them what they want. In Bulgaria I once expe-
rienced that fake policemen wanted to take our passports and car papers. We quickly drove in the direction of Sofia. In Serbia I
once appeared in court, on a Sunday afternoon even, for a so called traffic offence I hadn’t committed. With a very bad ending.
Last summer however I took an alternative route through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany.
We nowhere had to wait for more than 20 minutes, nice border officials, never saw police anywhere, once we had to open our
trunk but without problems. We also saw many beautiful areas in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Next year I know I’ll take the
same route. Especially in Romania the roads aren’t that good everywhere, but that’s better than waiting for hours at the usual
border posts on the usual route.

Regards,
Translation

Dear,

In Serbia all car drivers had to put €5 (bribe) in the green card of the car documents and give it to the customs official. If not
done, the car was put on the side and for a thorough search.

Please mention this in the European Parliament.

Thanks!

Kind regards,
Translation

Dear Ms Piri,

I went to Turkey with my vehicle in August. At the Bulgarian border I was stopped for no reason at the checkpoint and the in-
specting border officer took our passports and left the house afterwards and came back after about 20 minutes.

To his question whether I had something else (probably he wanted to see money between the passports) I said no. He then went
about 3 minutes to pass the passports back and forth and then give me the passes back. They cause these waiting times, we
have been stopped at the borders for no reason. Because they did this with almost everyone as I have noticed from my relati-
ves and acquaintances, these mega jams have emerged within 16-20 hours. I would ask you to proceed against this and find a
solution for this.

Of course, border checks have to be made, however, it cannot be that we as vacationers are the sufferers. Thank you for your
help and support.

Best Regards from Germany

Translation

Hello,

I saw on Facebook you were gathering information about what Dutch vacation goers are facing in Bulgaria.

Here’s a picture that shows the police stopping you and almost always asks for money (€5 or €10) without a reason. They make
up something, such as speeding, your passport isn’t in order, your driving license isn’t in order and so on.

Take a look at the license plate, I saw it today.

Translation

Dear Ms. Piri,

Thank you for all your efforts for this issue to make people hear our voice.

• I have arrived to Turkish Border at 10.00 am at 26th of August.

• I have left Bulgarian Border at 03.30 am at 27th of August.

• This is a great organisation poverty of Turkish part, since there was no power to talk with Bulgaria border and maybe to
open additional lanes...

• as soon as I have arrived the space between Turkish and Bulgarian border, there was a place where they have sprayed some
liquid to our vehicle.
• Disinfection fee: €3...

• Vignette is a must for Bulgarian highway usage, but you are free to purchase it from where you want. i did the same 30 days
ago, when I’ve entered from Serbian port to Bulgarian, I drove 50 km to reach the gas station i knew, so i purchased there...
that is not a must to purchase it from border.... but Bulgarians, just after disinfection, sold us the vignette, i am not sure on
the price (before 18 hours approx. waiting anger) was 8 euros. Normally you can purchase it to another price from any gas
station.

• when there is kilometres of people waiting back, to keep only 2 lanes open for non-legal disinfection and vignette issue was
not really justiciable.

• Something more for you. When you leave Bulgaria and enter to Serbian border, in this time they ask you where your Bulga-
rian vignette is. I say that is on my car what is your problem? No give that back to me. This was something to sell to other
people who will enter to Bulgaria...
• just to arrive on work at Monday morning, I used to drive 1750 km with no stop because of this Bulgarian’s created me a loss
of time.

These poor and mad minded people years and years making us the same things. Please do not let them!

Thank you from heart to underline and make evident this issue.
Translation

Dear Piri,

A couple of hours ago I had the same problems at the Bulgarian border when exiting. The custom control didn’t think the cars
insurance document was original enough, and as a result I had to put €20 in my passport after an argument of 10 minutes.

Good luck!!

Regards,

Regards from Italia.

Bulgarije wordt op 1 januari 2018 voorzitter van de Europese Unie. Dit is het moment om de corruptie
van de Bulgaarse douaniers en politie aan te kaarten bij de Europese Commissie.

U kunt uw klacht doormailen naar guler.turan@vlaamsparlement.be of opsturen naar Leuvenseweg

86, 1000 Brussel. Deze worden gezamenlijk overgemaakt naar de bevoegde instanties.

KLACHTENFORMULIER IVM BEHANDELING DOOR BULGAARSE

DOUANE/POLITIE
GEGEVENS : naam + voornaam + adres + telefoon + email

..Seven Degirmenci..........................................
Oude Steenweg 20 2060 ANTWERPEN
0497897611……………………………………
Seven.tuncel@hotmail.nl………………………………….

Datum en plaats van de gebeurtenissen :………2006…………………………………………….

Ik wens melding te maken van het volgende ( kruis aan wat van toepassing is) :

0 Ik heb veel te lang moeten wachten aan de grensovergang van Turkije naar Bulgarije.
In totaal heb ik …….uren stilgestaan.

X de douaniers eisten van mij smeergeld vooraleer mij door te laten. Ik heb ..…. EURO
betaald

0 mijn wagen moest gedesinfecteerd worden. Ik betaalde hiervoor ….. EURO

0 ik betaalde met een bankbiljet en kreeg geen wisselgeld terug

0 de douaniers legden beslag op mijn goederen (zoals sigaretten en drank)omdat dat

verboden zou zijn. Van deze inbeslagname werden geen documenten gegeven.

0 politie hield mij tegen omwille van een (snelheids)overtreding, doch ik kreeg hiervan
geen enkel bewijs te zien. Ik diende onmiddellijk cash te betalen. Zij vroegen eerst
……. EURO en ik betaalde ………EURO. Ik kreeg geen betalingsbewijs of afschrift
van een PV.

0 ik heb een andere klacht die ik wens te formuleren

……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..

Ik wens dat deze wanpraktijken definitief stoppen zodat we als volwaardige Europese
burgers kunnen reizen.

Plaats + datum + handtekening

Bulgarije wordt op 1 januari 2018 voorzitter van de Europese Unie. Dit is het moment om de corruptie
van de Bulgaarse douaniers en politie aan te kaarten bij de Europese Commissie.

U kunt uw klacht doormailen naar guler.turan@vlaamsparlement.be of opsturen naar Leuvenseweg

86, 1000 Brussel. Deze worden gezamenlijk overgemaakt naar de bevoegde instanties.

KLACHTENFORMULIER IVM BEHANDELING DOOR BULGAARSE

DOUANE/POLITIE
GEGEVENS : naam + voornaam + adres + telefoon + email

.....Gülcan Kahraman.......................................
……Orgelwinningstraat 6
3582 Beringen……………………………………
……………………………………….

Datum en plaats van de gebeurtenissen :…2016 Bulgaarse grens………………julı 2016

grens Bulgarıje Turkıje………………………………….

Ik wens melding te maken van het volgende ( kruis aan wat van toepassing is) :

0 Ik heb veel te lang moeten wachten aan de grensovergang van Turkije naar Bulgarije.
In totaal heb ik …6….uren stilgestaan.

0 de douaniers eisten van mij smeergeld vooraleer mij door te laten. Ik heb ..10….
EURO betaald

0 mijn wagen moest gedesinfecteerd worden. Ik betaalde hiervoor 5….. EURO

0 ik betaalde met een bankbiljet en kreeg geen wisselgeld terug

0 de douaniers legden beslag op mijn goederen (zoals sigaretten en drank)omdat dat

verboden zou zijn. Van deze inbeslagname werden geen documenten gegeven.

0 politie hield mij tegen omwille van een (snelheids)overtreding, doch ik kreeg hiervan
geen enkel bewijs te zien. Ik diende onmiddellijk cash te betalen. Zij vroegen eerst
…50…. EURO en ik betaalde ……20…EURO. Ik kreeg geen betalingsbewijs of
afschrift van een PV.

0 ik heb een andere klacht die ik wens te formuleren

……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..

Ik wens dat deze wanpraktijken definitief stoppen zodat we als volwaardige Europese
burgers kunnen reizen.

Plaats + datum + handtekening

Bulgarije wordt op 1 januari 2018 voorzitter van de Europese Unie. Dit is het moment om de corruptie
van de Bulgaarse douaniers en politie aan te kaarten bij de Europese Commissie.

U kunt uw klacht doormailen naar guler.turan@vlaamsparlement.be of opsturen naar Leuvenseweg

86, 1000 Brussel. Deze worden gezamenlijk overgemaakt naar de bevoegde instanties.

KLACHTENFORMULIER IVM BEHANDELING DOOR BULGAARSE

DOUANE/POLITIE
GEGEVENS : naam + voornaam + adres + telefoon + email

Aydın Evren Ümit............................................

Lumbeeckstraat 7 2660 Hoboken…………………………………………
……………………………………….

Datum en plaats van de gebeurtenissen 27-08-

2017:…………………………………………………….

Ik wens melding te maken van het volgende ( kruis aan wat van toepassing is) :

0 Ik heb veel te lang moeten wachten aan de grensovergang van Turkije naar Bulgarije.
In totaal heb ik 7…….uren stilgestaan.

0 de douaniers eisten van mij smeergeld vooraleer mij door te laten. Ik heb 5..….
EURO betaald

0 mijn wagen moest gedesinfecteerd worden. Ik betaalde hiervoor 3….. EURO

0 ik betaalde met een bankbiljet en kreeg geen wisselgeld terug

0 de douaniers legden beslag op mijn goederen (zoals sigaretten en drank)omdat dat

verboden zou zijn. Van deze inbeslagname werden geen documenten gegeven.

0 politie hield mij tegen omwille van een (snelheids)overtreding, doch ik kreeg hiervan
geen enkel bewijs te zien. Ik diende onmiddellijk cash te betalen. Zij vroegen eerst
……. EURO en ik betaalde ………EURO. Ik kreeg geen betalingsbewijs of afschrift
van een PV.

0 ik heb een andere klacht die ik wens te formuleren

……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..

Ik wens dat deze wanpraktijken definitief stoppen zodat we als volwaardige Europese
burgers kunnen reizen.

Plaats + datum + handtekening Antwerpen 28-11-2017

Testimonial 1:
Sofyanin cikisinda 3 arabanin arasindan beni durdurup ehliyet ruhsati aldi arabada oturan komsere goturdu kom-
serin bana ilksorusu kürtmüsun türkmusunoldu turk oldugumu soyleyince gel bakalim dedi bir kitap acti cezan 50
euro ehliyetindende 10 puan dusulecek 20 km geri gideceksin orda polis bankasi yuksek binaya yatiracaksin burdan
ehliyetini alacaksindedi bendedimki zaten iki saattir yolusasirdim bulamadim yanima bir polisver yatirayim dedim
polis veremem makbuzyok parayi ode ehliyeti aldedi kitabi acti 50 euro koydu sucum bulgaristanda gunduz farlarin
yanmasi gerekiyormus e
En zorumagidende isleme baslamada bana kürtmusun türkmusundiye sormasi oldu parayi ode
dikten sonra sordum neden bana oylesordundiye benimle alay edercesine sisevdim sen guzel adamsin demeye
basladi gumrukten gecerkende arabayi kirlibir sudan gecirip 5 euroda orda aldilar gelelim sirbistana benim araba
munibustu tirlarin gectigi perona yakin dim bir gorevli geldi beni siradan cikardi kantaracikardi araba bos oldugu
halde 28 euro kantar parasi 5 euroda pasaporta giris vurdumamissindiye para aldilar diyecegim cok sahipsiz bir
milletiz resmen izin sezonu soyuluyoruz , XXX

Translation:
When driving out of Sofia I was stopped between three cars and the police asked for my documents. He took
them [the documents] to the chief of police who then asked me whether I was Turkish or Kurdish. When I told
him that I was Turkish, he opened a little booklet and told me that I had to pay 50 euro and that I would lose 10
points from my driver’s license. They asked me to drive back 20km to pay the fine there and to recollect my
driver’s license. I said that I had already been lost before and that I don’t know my way around well and told him
that the police had to guide me there. He opened the booklet again and said either put 50 euro in here or drive
around. The reason for this fine apparently was that headlights have to be turned on during the day in Bulgaria.
So I put the 50 euro in his open booklet.
I found it shocking that he almost made fun of me when asking whether I was Turkish or Kurdish and when I
asked him why he said that, he answered that he just thought that I was a pretty man. After this, I drove further,
had to drive over dirty water and had to pay 5 EUR for it. In Serbia too I have had to pay a fine while waiting at the
border crossings. They weighed my car and told me that it was overloaded and again had to pay 28 EUR without
any proof plus 5 EUR because the customs official had not put a stamp on my passport while entering Serbia.
Nobody cares for us. XXX

Kind regards,
XXX

Testimonial 2:

Beste,
Zoals iedereen hebben we ook problemen gehad met de lange wachtrijen aan de grenzen. Bij heen gaan naar
Turkije hadden we geluk, ja van 3 uur wachten aan de grenzen spreken we van geluk :)
Bij Terugkeer hebben we zeker 9u aan een stuk aan de grens Turkije/Bulgarije moeten wachten. En 5u aan de
grens Bulgarije/Hongarije. Zal het kort houden, want ze zijn allemaal het zelfde verhalen.....
Mijn grootste ergernis was aan de grens van Hongarije, nl douaneambtenaar vroeg : heb je sigaretten bij jullie ?
En wij antwoordden zo overtuigend ja 3 kolommen sigaretten. Omdat we met 2 volwassenen waren en per vol-
wassene dachten we of waren we zeker dat we 3 kolommen recht op hadden. Maar de slimme Hongaren hadden
met de zomerperiode een nieuwe regel opgezet. Per volwassene maar 2 pakketjes sigaretten. En een boete van
90 euro per kolom. Ze hebben ons 3 kolommen sigaretten genomen en ons 4 pakjes sigaretten gegeven.
We moesten naar een bureau gaan om de boete te betalen. Er stonden verschillende mensen ook met het
zelfde probleem. Iemand van Duitsland had nog een recente info papier Hongarije bij met de nodige uitleg maar
tevergeefs. Ze waren kort en dreigen de mensen met extra boetes en recht zaken. Wij mochten nog van geluk
spreken dat we maar 90 euro boete en ons sigaretten kwijt waren. Er zaten mensen die hogere boetes moesten
betalen en urenlang moesten wachten.
Ik heb hun info boekjes en de papieren ook meegenomen, indien er serieus werk van gemaakt wordt ?
zie bijlage

Bedankt,
Vriendelijke groeten,
XXX
Translation:
Dear,

Like everyone we too have had problems with long waiting queues at the borders. When going to Turkey we
were in luck, yes only 3 hours of waiting at the borders is what we call luck :)
When returning we certainly had to wait for 9h straight at the Turkey/Bulgaria border and 5h at the Bulgaria/
Hungary border. Will keep it short because these are all the same stories.....
My biggest annoyance was at the border with Hungary, because the customs official asked: do you have cigaret-
tes with you? And we answered very convincingly yes 3 cartons of cigarettes. Because we were with two adults
and per adult we thought or we were sure we were entitled to 3 cartons. But the clever Hungarians had set up a
new rule for the summer period. Only 2 packs of cigarettes per adult. And a 90 euro fin per carton. They took our
3 cartons of cigarettes and gave us 4 packs of cigarettes in return.
We had to go to an office to pay the fine. There were several people there with the same problem. Someone
from Germany carried a recent information flyer Hungary with him but to no avail. They were snippy and threa-
tened people with extra fines and lawsuits. We were lucky that we only had the 90 euro fine and lost our cigaret-
tes. There were people who had to pay higher fines and wait for hours.
I took their information flyers and the papers too, in case this will be dealt with seriously ?

Thank you,
Kind regards,
XXX

Testimonial 3:
TURKEY EMIRDAG PASSENGER,

I work at Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Civil Enginee-
ring, as Head of Transportation Division. Since we are a member of the faculty, we have been permanently going
abroad at least twice a year. This summer, I was invited to the International Conference on Civil and Architectu-
ral Engineering (ICCAE) in Belgium on August 14-15.

My uncle, who lives in the Netherlands, offered to go to Holland together because he had a backache. I did not
feel myself comfortable so I could not refuse the offer and decided to go to Holland by highway. From there I was
going to Belgium on conference day.

By road we set up a route to the Netherlands via Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Germany. We went to
Greece because The Kapıkule Customs Gate was too busy.

When we had a conversation about the trip with our fellow countrymen who live in abroad. They always com-
plained about difficulties which they experienced in Bulgaria .Such as taking bribes, throwing things away unne-
cessarily and throwing them away when there was no fault.

I want to tell you what happened here. From 09.08.2017, we were stopped by the police when we were passing
through Bulgaria. The police wanted to get my driving licence. I was speaking English. The police told me that it
belongs to Turkey. He scolded me and made fun of me for speaking English. There was my uncle’s wife in the car.
Despite being a lady in the car, he made embarrassed hand movements. I told him that what did was wrong. It
didn’t suitable for police officer behavior. He pulled me leg. Firstly he has learnt what I’m a diplomat suddenly his
behavior changed.

The important thing is here our fellow countrymen have many difficulties when passing through Bulgaria. They
could have helped tourist helped tourists. They tried to make difficulties unnecessarily. This is not suitable for a
member of the European Union. We tried to defend our rights there but ıt is possible to some people who do not
know English can’t defend themselves. We should take care of them.

I demand from the authorities that sanctions should be imposed on the Bulgarian State in order to warn this
issue and not to make any difficulties.

Best regards…
XXX
Testimonial 4:
Beste,

Ik ga enkele moeilijkheden opsommen die we hebben ondervonden in Bulgarije tijdens onze reis naar en van
Turkije.

De wachtrij: Spijtig genoeg hebben ook wij 8 uur moeten aanschuiven bij de bulgaarse grens op weg naar België.
Richting Turkije was dat 3 uur wachten omdat fouilleren en desinfecteren niet werden uitgevoerd. Onze auto
heeft richting België een doucheke (desinfecteren) gekregen waar we 3€ voor moesten betalen! We hadden een
bon gekregen als bewijs van betaling, maar spijtig genoeg hebben we het niet bijgehouden. Had ik geweten...
Dan had ik ook foto’s getrokken... Het komt vernederend over!

Vlak voordat we de douane bereikten stonden we 45min stil, omdat de loketbediende zonder aankondiging zijn
loket verliet en de ander kwam 45 min later! Dienstwisseling duurt zo lang dus bij hun...
Fooi: Vroeger betaalden we ‘soepgeld’ aan politie, loketbedienden, beveiligingspersoneel etc. Tot grote verba-
zing vroeg daar niemand naar achter dit jaar. Tot vorig jaar betaalden we hier en daar 2€, 1€. Zelfs 5€ aan de
douane, want anders kreeg je je pas niet terug en moest je aan de kant schuiven en dan moest je alles (ja echt
alles!) uitladen! Daar zijn we ook van gespaard gebleven.

Onnodige controle: We zagen aan de douane dat er auto’s voor of achter ons zwaar gefouilleerd werden. Wij zijn
daar alle geluk van gespaard gebleven. Ik denk dat ze zomaar mensen uitpikten. Het was pech of geluk hebben.
Boete: We hebben rekening gehouden met de snelheidslimiet, want in de voorbije jaren hebben we eens boete
betaald. Ze vroegen toen naar hun goesting boete, we hebben moeten onderhandelen. 100€ werd uiteindelijk
20€ en konden we doorrijden!! Er is een tunnel waar een flitspaal staat. We hebben dat plek onthouden, en
traag gereden om (corrupte!) boete te vermijden.

Eindresultaat: Het werd onze laatste keer door Bulgarije, we hebben het wel gehad! We kiezen volgend jaar een
andere route uit.

Hopelijk komt er verandering aan de schandelijke omstandigheden. Ik apprecieer u en de andere mensen voor
jullie moeite om dit probleem op te lossen.

Met vriendelijke groeten,

XXX

Translation:
Dear,

I will list some difficulties we have experienced in Bulgaria during our trip to and from Turkey.
The waiting queue: Unfortunately we too had to queue for 8 hours at the bulgarian border on our way to Belgium.
On the way to Turkey we had to wait 3 hours because strip-search and disinfection was not carried out. On our
way to Belgium our car received a small shower (disinfection) for which we had to pay 3€! We received a receipt
as proof of payment, but unfortunately we didn’t keep it with us. Had I known... Then I would also have taken
pictures... It is very humiliating !

Right before we reached the custom’s gate we stood still for 45mins, because the clerk left his office without
notice and the other one came 45 mins later! Shift change thus takes this long for them...
Tip: before we used to pay ‘soup money’ to police, clerks, security personnel etc. To our great surprise no one
asked for this this year. Until last year we paid 2€, 1€ here and there. Even €5 to the customs officials, because
otherwise you would not get your passport back and you would have to go to the side and then you would have to
unload everything (yes really everything!)! We were spared from that too.

Unnecessary checks: At the customs gate we saw that cars before and behind us were heavily strip-searched.
Luckily we were spared from that. I think they just randomly selected people. It was either having bad or good
luck.

Fine: We took the speeding limit into account, because in previous years we once had to pay a fine. They then
asked fines like they wished to, we had to negotiate. 100€ became 20€ in the end and we could move on!! There
is a tunnel where there is a speed camera. We remembered that spot, and drove slowly in order to avoid the
(corrupt!) fine.

End result: It became or last time [driving] through Bulgaria, we are done with it! We will pick another route next
year.

Hopefully the scandalous circumstances will change. I appreciate you and the other people for your effort to
solve the problem.

Kind regards,
XXX

Testimonial 5:
Geachte mevrouw,

Graag wil ik in het kort mijn ervaringen meedelen ontrent deze actuele probleem die nu aangekaart gaat worden
door uw Nederlandse collega Kati Piri (PVDA) bij de Bulgaarse overheid.

Graag zouden we ook de inspanningen van onze overheid uit zien om de corruptie die we onderweg ondervinden
verder aan te kaarten bij de Bulgaarse instanties.

Dit zijn mijn nare ervaringen van deze jaar;

• douaniers weigeren een vlotte behandeling aan de grens en zorgen voor kilometers lange files onder de
blakende zon.
• douaniers en politiemensen op de weg zinspelen op repercussies als je geen steekpenningen/smeergeld
aanbiedt.
• bij het binnenkomen van Bulgarije langs Turkije (onderweg terug naar België dus) laten ze de wagens over
een zogezegd sproei installatie rijden die een beetje water spuit onder de wagens met de mom van desin-
fectie en vragen hiervoor van iedereen 3 euro. Waar slaat dit op? Alsof Turkije een geïnfecteerd land is? Dit is
duidelijk een vorm van afpersing en denigrerend voor een heel volk en land. Dat men deze taferelen en ver-
mommen vorm van belediging en afpersing van de overheid uit toelaat in de Europese Unie is een schande.
• zoveel subsidies van de EU uit om hun wegen in orde te brengen, maar nog altijd trekt hun wegwijzering
op niets. Alsof ze met opzet mensen willen laten verdwalen in het land. Heb al veel verhalen van reizigers
gehoord en gelezen in de media die de weg kwijt waren en uiteindelijk beroofd zijn van hun bezittingen in the
middle of nowhere.
• snelheidslimieten op de snelweg zonder duidelijke redenen ervoor vb. U rijdt met 120 op de snelweg, in-
eens een bord met 70 erop, dan 50, en dit op een afstand van nog geen 50 m , zonder een kruising van één
of ander weg, om dan terug naar 120 over te gaan. Overduidelijk om mensen in de val te lokken, hen een
overtreding te laten begaan zodat de politie ze aan de kant kan zetten. Een EU land moet toch aan bepaalde
voorwaarden voldoen ivm verkeersregels die voldoen aan bepaalde normen in de EU?

Dit zijn een paar ervaringen van mezelf. Anderen hebben nog ergere ervaringen als ik.

Ik hoop dat er eindelijk iets gedaan wordt aan dit. Zulke problemen horen niet meer voor te komen in een EU
land. EU onwaardig allemaal.

Hoogachtend

XXX
Zelfstandige

Translation:
Dear madam,

I would like to briefly share my experiences on this current problem that is raised by your Dutch colleague Kati
Piri (PVDA) with the Bulgarian authorities.
We would also like to see efforts from our government to put the corruption that we meet on the road with the
Bulgarian authorities.

These are my bad experiences from this year;

• Customs officals refuse a swift treatment at the border and cause a several kilometres long traffick jam
under the blazing sun.
• Customs officials and police men on the road insinuate repercussions if you don’t offer vignettes/bribes.
• When entering Bulgaria from Turkey (on our way back to Belgium) they let cars drive over a so-called
sprinkler that sprays a bit of water under the car under the guise of disinfection and ask everyone for 3 euro.
What is the point? As if Turkey is an infected country? This is clearly a form of extortion and denigrating for
a whole people and country. It is a disgrace that the government allows these kinds of scenes and disguised
form of insult in the European Union.
• They get so many subsidies from the EU to fix their roads, but still the signposting is an absolute mess. As
if they try to let people get lost on purpose. Have already heard a lot of stories from travellers and have read
in the media about [people] who got lost and in the end got robbed from their possessions in the middle of
nowhere.
• speeding limits on the highway without a clear reason behind them i.e. You drive 120 on the highway, sud-
denly a sign that says 70, then 50, and this within a distance of less than 50 m, without another road cros-
sing, to then go back to 120. More than clearly this is to set up a trap for people, to let them break the law so
the police can ask them to go to the side of the road. Didn’t an EU country have to meet certain standards
concerning traffic rules that comply with certain EU norms?

These are a few experiences from myself. Others have worse experiences than me.
I hope that something will finally be done about this. Such problems should not occur anymore in an EU country.

This is all unworthy of the EU.

Yours Sincerely,
XXX
Business owner
Annex II:
Question to
the European
Commission
Question for written answer E-008970/2015
to the Commission

Rule 130

Kati Piri (S&D)

Subject: Abuses and corruption at the border between Turkey and Bulgaria

Last summer, thousands of EU citizens once again suffered serious inconvenience due
to corrupt practices in Bulgaria, such as people being compelled to pay bribes at the
border and the imposition by the traffic police of dubious fines to be paid in cash.
Waiting times at the border between Turkey and Bulgaria were as long as 14 hours, and
the compulsory disinfection of cars entering Bulgaria rightly caused considerable
irritation.

1. Apart from annual CVM reports, what measures does the Commission take to ensure
that all EU citizens can travel through Bulgaria safely?

2. How effective have the Commission’s measures been, and how is their effectiveness
assessed?

3. Does the Commission regard corruption affecting EU citizens in Bulgaria as a

possible obstacle to the free movement of persons?

E-005511-17
Annex III:
Press
Annex IV:
Information on
border control at
the Bulgarian-
Turkish and
Bulgarian Serbian
Border by the
Bulgarian Ministry
of Interior