Stopping people at the border because of unpaid road fines violates fundamental freedoms in the EU, said the Association for Consumer Protection, which will send a signal to the European Commission over the illegal stopping at Bulgarian borders.

One of our basic rights as citizens of the EU is free movement and this was accepted with the accession of Bulgaria to the community. The restriction also violates the Bulgarian Constitution, which guarantees the right to leave the country freely. Authorities need to find other ways to collect their fines, the association said and added it supports the opinion of ombudsman Diana Kovacheva that fine document can be served at the border, but people could not be stopped to cross it if they refused to pay.