site.btaInterior Minister: 130 Frontex Officers Are in Bulgaria

Interior Minister: 130 Frontex Officers  Are in Bulgaria

Sofia, October 12 (BTA) - Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova said there are 130 Frontex officers in Bulgaria now, up from some 40 until recently.

There is no tension between them and local police officers, Buchvarova added. Romania has contributed the largest number of officers.

Bulgaria has received the first 90 million euro with which the EU is helping it cope with migrant pressure, Buchvarova told a meeting of the parliamentary Internal Security Committee.

More than 400 all-terrain vehicles will be bought for the regions along the borders with Turkey, Serbia and Greece, as well as 4,500 devices for the Interior Ministry's TETRA system. The video surveillance system will also be boosted.

The breakdown of expenditures also includes containers and sites to be used in emergency situations, wages and travel expenses.

About 20 per cent of the EU funding will go towards accommodation facilities, and some of that amount will be spent on the repatriation of 1,000 Afghan migrants. The rest of the financing will go towards technical equipment.

The total sum with which the EU is helping Bulgaria is close to 220 million euro, Buchvarova said in late September. The money comes from the EU's Internal Security Fund and the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

In addition to 58 million euro already allocated, on September 17 the European Commission announced that it was providing 108 million euro in border security aid and would urgently consider Bulgaria's additional request for another 52 million euro.