Bulgaria sees anti-migrant narrative rise before entry into Schengen

A rising tide of anti-migrant misinformation has flooded Bulgaria, stoking rallies and xenophobia ahead of Sofia’s partial accession to the European Union’s visa-free Schengen zone.

After more than a decade of talks, EU members Bulgaria and Romania finally got the green signal in December to join the Schengen zone, but only for air and sea travel, from the end of this month.

The move came after Austria lifted its veto. But in exchange, Vienna insisted that Bulgaria and Romania take back asylum seekers who entered Europe through those countries.The bloc’s so-called Dublin regulation stipulates that migrants must apply for asylum in their first European port of call.

The pro-Western government in the EU’s poorest country has consequently faced attacks both from the left and the far-right. In January, the leader of the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party Kostadin Kostadinov, said Bulgaria could become “the world’s biggest refugee camp”.

Some far-right politicians posted videos on social media they said showed “migrants beating up young Bulgarians” in Sofia. Police, however, described the incident as an altercation between two rival Bulgarian groups.

Security has been stepped up in the capital and at refugee centres after several incidents targeting foreigners and anti-refugee rallies.