Bulgaria could block Turkey’s bid to join the European Union unless it receives compensation for the displacement of its Thracian refugees from the Ottoman Empire at the end of the Second Balkan War in 1913.
 
Bulgaria may ask to be given up to 14 billion euro in compensation for displaced people, EUobserver reported on January 4 2010.

Such reports first surfaced in the Bulgarian mass circulation daily 24 Chasa on January 3 2010 in the light of comments made by Bozhidar Dimitrov, Minister without portfolio in the Cabinet of Boiko Borissov.
 
"Turkey is surely able to pay 14 million euro. After all, it's the 16th largest economic power in the world. One of the three conditions of Turkey's full membership of the EU is solving the problem of the real estate of Thracian refugees," said Dimitrov.
 
Veselin Ninov, from the Bulgarian government's press office, told EUobserver on January 4 that the issue is being worked on by Bulgarian and Turkish officials.
 
"This is a matter of official government policy. There is a contract between the two parties, dated 1925. This is an official contract, so, according to the contracting parties, the Turkish government has to repay the equivalent of eight billion euro to the Bulgarian refugees," he said.
 
During the conflict between Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Romania against Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire exploited the situation and decided to recover some of its lost possessions in Thrace, including Adrianople.
 
Subsequently, at the beginning of July 1913, Ottoman armies crossed the Bulgarian border on the line Midiya-Enos, which was settled by the Treaty of London in May 1913. As most Bulgarian forces were deployed fighting against Serbia and Greece, the Ottomans faced little or no opposition as they advanced westward.
 
At the end of the war, numerous accounts were given of atrocities and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the Turkish regular army, Ottoman paramilitary forces and partly from local Greeks. About 200 000 Bulgarians were displaced, leaving their homes and properties, seeking salvation in territories controlled by the Bulgarian army.
 
When asked if Bulgaria is contemplating on blocking progress in EU-Turkey negotiations because of the dispute, Ninov told the EUobserver: "There is such an option. But this is just one of many other conditions of Bulgarian support for Turkish membership. There are also issues relating to energy and water management projects."
 
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov is poised to discuss the matter of compensation during a visit to Turkey in January or February, Ninov said.