site.btaBulgaria Becomes First Country to Sign Bilateral Protocol on Migration with Turkey

Bulgaria Becomes First Country to Sign Bilateral Protocol on Migration with Turkey

Ankara, May 5 (BTA special correspondent Nahide Deniz) - Bulgaria on Thursday became the first country to sign a bilateral protocol with Ankara on the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on the return of illegal migrants to Turkey. The protocol is aimed to ensure that migrants who have entered Bulgaria illegally will be returned to Turkey and the routes of illegal migration and human trafficking will be blocked, said Bulgarian Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova, who signed the protocol together with Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala in Ankara.

Buchvarova underscored the high level of cooperation between the two countries in the field of security. She noted the establishment of a trilateral police and customs cooperation centre between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint. The centre is being financed under the action plan for Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen border-free area. It is aimed to boost trilateral cooperation and information sharing in matters of migration, organized crime and terrorism, she said.

According to Buchvarova, illegal trafficking in people decreased by 20 per cent in the first three months of this year thanks to the measures which had been taken.

Ala described the bilateral protocol between Turkey and Bulgaria as an important tool in the joint fight against illegal migration. He said Bulgaria is the first European country to sign such a protocol with Turkey because Ankara believes it will ensure effective return of illegal migrants and better cooperation in ending illegal migration.

Ala thanked Buchvarova for her role in finalizing the protocol in a relatively short period of time. "I am certain that we will continue our close and fruitful cooperation with Bulgaria. We in Turkey are ready to fulfill our obligations," he said.

Buchvarova and Ala, along with the delegations headed by them, had a closed-door meeting.

The negotiations between Bulgaria and Turkey were conducted in March immediately after the EU gave the green light for the migration agreement. According to some sources, the bilateral readmission protocol between Bulgaria and Turkey takes account of the EU requirements concerning the new system for receiving refugees and extending the temporary checks along the internal Schengen borders.