The European Union has a new worry – Bulgaria's generosity in granting citizenship, according to a report aired by the Bavarian radio.

"A policeman stands in downtown Sofia, in front of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, reading outloud the names of the lucky ones, who have been granted Bulgarian citizenship. 100 people are quiet, freezing in the cold, nervous not to miss their name, because of they do, they lose. Why? For a better future. 24-year-old Sasho, who is Macedonian, explains he would try to find a better job somewhere, because no one knows when his country will become EU member and he wants a new life in Europe now," the radio report says, cited by the Bulgarian news agency BGNES.

The newscast further informs the Minister for Bulgarians Abroad, Bozhidar Dimitrov, makes significant effort to dissipate the EU worries, explaining the conditions to receive a Bulgarian passport, and assuring the process involves very few individuals who would not become a burden for the European social programs.

The report points out Western Europe is alarmed because those with Bulgarian citizenship will also receive the right to live and work in any EU Member State.

Dimitrov is quoted saying that publications about hundreds of thousands or even millions flooding Europe in a new immigration wave are exaggerated, declaring a mere 16 000 have received Bulgarian passports in the last 10 years.

"The numbers, however, are questionable, as the example with Bulgarians from Bessarabia, Moldova and the Ukraine shows, because the Minister is ready to grant them a passport while nobody knows how many they are. Maybe this is why Dimitrov prefers to stress on the strict requirements for citizenship such as proof of Bulgarian origins and fluency in Bulgarian," the report concludes.

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