site.btaMission Finds Frontex Really Helps Bulgaria Manage Border with Turkey

Sofia, February 14 (BTA) - Members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee have found that the EU agency Frontex is doing a good job in helping Bulgaria manage its border with Turkey. The activities of Frontex are an expression of European solidarity as the agency assists the provision of human resources and equipment from member states, the European Parliament office in Sofia said on Wednesday.

During their fact-finding visit to Bulgaria between February 12 and 14, the European parliamentarians obtained firsthand information about ongoing Frontex operations along the border with Turkey. They talked with the agency's Deputy Executive Director Berndt Koerner, with members of the Frontex team at the Border Police International Coordination Centre in Sofia and at the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing, and with border control officers.

The guests also met with Bulgaria's Vice President Iliana Iotova and Interior Minister Valentin Radev to discuss the situation on the national border and Frontex's cooperation with the Bulgarian border guard.

The European parliamentarians visited the trilateral police and customs cooperation centre of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey in Kapitan Andreevo and the migrant camp in Lyubimets. In order to get an even better idea about the situation in Bulgaria, they also conferred with NGOs and representatives of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The guests reviewed the implementation of the new Frontex regulation in Bulgaria.