Bulgaria’s Schengen Entry Delayed Due to Public Procurement Failure

Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen area may be delayed due to the failure of a public procurement process, according to Martin Dimitrov, MP of the PP-DB party, and Radan Kanev, a member of the European Parliament.

The public procurement process, worth over 40 million euros, aimed to purchase additional equipment for customs points, including scanners and X-ray systems. The majority of the funds, 32 million euros, were provided by the European Union.

The equipment was intended for various customs points, including Vidin, Ruse, Varna, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna-zapad, Ruse, Varna airport, and the ferry customs point in Varna. Additionally, the equipment was meant for Sofia, Plovdiv, Haskovo, Burgas, and several other points.

However, the public procurement process failed after an appeal to the Competition Protection Commission and the Supreme Administrative Court. Instead of issuing a new tender, the process was moved to direct negotiation, citing national security concerns.

According to Dimitrov, the European Commission required transparency in the spending of funds, which was not achieved in this case. He questioned the decision, stating that it was a “ridiculous goal” that could harm Bulgaria’s chances of joining the Schengen area.

Kanev added that the cancellation of the public procurement process and the switch to direct contracting with an unknown company was causing tension in Brussels. He stated that this decision could be used as a reason to postpone Bulgaria’s Schengen membership.

The Customs Agency argued that direct contracting was an example of “good practice” when buying similar equipment from another member state. However, this argument was met with skepticism by Dimitrov and Kanev.

A delivery contract has already been completed, with a deadline of June 30 next year.