site.btaGovernment Proposes Amendments to Asylum and Refugees Act

Government Proposes Amendments to Asylum and Refugees Act

Sofia, August 5 (BTA) - The Council of Ministers on Wednesday
approved a bill to amend the Asylum and Refugees Act aimed to
transpose into national legislation the EU's 2013 Directive on
Common Procedures for Granting and Withdrawing International
Protection.

If the bill is voted into law by the National Assembly, it will
expressly provide for representatives of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees, NGOs, lawyers and legal assistants to
 have access to protection-seeking foreigners in Bulgaria,
regardless of the foreigners' whereabouts - whether at a border
checkpoint, a transit zone, a detention facility, or a refugee
centre. The amendments will establish a requirement that
protection-seekers will be informed about the procedure for
applying for international protection and the ensuing procedures
 and consequences.

The bill will update the list of potential valid reasons for
proclaiming an application for refugee status or humanitarian
status to be clearly unfounded. It will also extend the time
period for making a decision on such an application in order to
ensure that the application is given thorough consideration.
Application processing will be streamlined by lifting a
requirement to determine the EU member state which is competent
to consider the international protection application.

The bill has been posted on the Council of Ministers public
feedback website www.strategy.bg.