Bulgaria was providing citizenship to a large number of foreigners who came from countries that were not members of the EU, an article in The Sunday Telegraph titled Bulgaria Opens Back Door to the EU With Give-Away Passports Bonanza said.

Citizenship-issuing procedures were abused by corrupt officials shortly before Bulgaria became EU member state, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

West European countries, among which UK, already feared the increased number of Southeast European workers expected to travel to EU member states, once Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that more than 20 000 Moldavians and Macedonians have already received Bulgarian citizenship in the past few years.

At least 55 000 more people were awaiting Bulgarian citizenship, the publication said.

Citizenship campaign in Bulgaria began as an attempt to strengthen the link with Bulgarian minorities in neighbouring countries. Yet, a number of applicants do not speak Bulgarian and lack Bulgarian heritage, The Sunday Telegraph reported.