Authorities recently captured a group of eight Somali and Syrian migrants on the beach of Vama Veche in south-eastern Romania, near the border to Bulgaria.

They had been brought ashore by a foreign ship and were planing to cross Romania and reach Western Europe.

According to Romanian authorities, they had been helped by a Turkish guide, who was captured together with his ship in the Bulgarian waters on the Black Sea.

Three of the migrants are Somali and three are Syrian, aged 16 to 32. They had hope to reach Denmark, Sweden and Germany. They left their countries for Turkey, where, in exchange for amounts between USD 3,000 and USD 10,000 were promised transport to Romania.

At the eastern border of the European Union and with hopes to join the Schengen area, Romania's border security has been scrutinized by EU states and Schengen area members, who feared letting Romania in would equal to opening doors to migrants from outside the EU and from outside the Schengen area. Despite having tried to join the free movement zone for years, and after saying it has done everything it was asked to ensure border security, Romania is still awaiting the unanimous vote to become a Schengen member.

editor@romania-insider.com