The audit report of DG SANTE confirmed the observations of the PP on the control of the “Captain Andreevo” checkpoint – Elections

An audit report by DG SANTE confirmed the observations of ‘We continue the changeKiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev presented their political project “We continue the change”” for the control of the “Captain Andreevo” border crossing

Serious gaps in border control for the previous ten years were identified by the Directorate General “Health and Food Safety” of the European Commission (DG Sante), which published a report on the audit of the phytosanitary control at the border crossing carried out at the beginning of July at the invitation of the Petkov cabinet “Captain Andreevo”.

The auditor’s conclusions confirm the Change government’s disclosure figures established at the end of May 2022.

Striking differences between the quantities of plant products with pesticides above the norm, stopped from being imported into Bulgaria and the EU from third countries before and after the country regained phytosanitary control at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, the Ministry of Agriculture and the BFSA reported at the beginning of July. The discrepancies were found in an in-depth analysis of data that has been available to authorities in the EU’s official TRACES system for the past 10 years. The state restored pesticide control at the border on May 20, 2022, as during the previous ten-year period it was in the hands of a private monopolist, and all the premises were leased to the same company. The private activity at the border is linked to Razmig Chakaryan – Ami, and media investigations establish links to Christophoros Amanatidis – Taki.

“Given the significant structural, procedural and operational inconsistencies identified during the audit, the Bulgarian authorities are unable to ensure that the relevant EU legislation is properly implemented in relation to the official control of goods entering the EU through the border crossing” Captain Andreevo “. The state cannot give guarantees that these goods comply with EU rules,” confirms the DG SANTE report.

Despite the PP government’s revelations about abuses at the border post, Eurolab 2011 refused to vacate the premises immediately. Former Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ivan Hristanov from “We continue the changeKiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev presented their political project “We continue the change”” and the director of the BABH, appointed by the Prime Minister – Prof. Hristo Daskalov, repeatedly signaled that the private company interacts with long-term employees of the BABH. Data on the functioning of an organized criminal group – through sabotage, concealment of information and threats – have been submitted to the GDBOP. The DG SANTE report also highlights attempts to mislead the auditors by certain state officials from the BFSA. The employees of the private company were last removed from the border on August 7, 2022 with the help of the gendarmerie – because of successive attempts to sabotage the punk’s activities. Nevertheless, the lawyers of Eurolab 2011 continue their attempts to bring the company back to the border through legal means, with the aim of stopping the reform undertaken by the PP. It is noteworthy that the same lawyers are tied to the structures of GERB – Haskovo.

The report by DG SANTE also states: «Both the internal audit of the BFSA carried out in 2019 and the audit by DG SANTE identified systemic gaps in the official control of transit consignments of animal origin. During this audit, no evidence was found to show that there has been any improvement in this control in the meantime, in accordance with the Commission’s regulations».

We remind you that in recent years, dozens of signals have been sent to the governments of GERB by institutions, media and people’s representatives, who signaled about the problems at the border – without any result. Bulgaria’s European partners have repeatedly highlighted the problems at the largest land border in the EU as a key reason for postponing the country’s entry into Schengen.

“The established systemic gaps in the implementation of official control in many cases have been known to the competent authorities for a long time, but nevertheless have not been effectively resolved,” the report also states. This also includes the condition of the premises rented by the private company, about which the Petkov office raised the alarm in the summer. “None of the facilities for the official control of animals and goods at the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint meet the minimum requirements for a border checkpoint. The schemes presented during audit DG SANTE 2022-7422 do not reflect the actual situation on the ground in terms of the flow of goods, the use of special areas and premises’.

The audit report contains recommendations for improving the phytosanitary control at the border in relation to the confirmed violations. “We continue the changeKiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev presented their political project “We continue the change”“believes that the guarantor of their implementation is the formation of a government with zero tolerance for corruption, as well as an independent and competent management and honorable employees of the BBAH.