site.btaCabinet Amends Framework of National Mechanism for Implementation of Bulgaria's Resettlement Commitments

Meeting here on Wednesday, the Council of Ministers amended the Framework of the National Mechanism for the Implementation of Bulgaria's Resettlement Commitments, the Government Information Service reported. The changes were prompted by the need to update the regulations to which the document refers. In this regard, on December 8, 2023, the amendments were examined and adopted at a meeting of the National Council on Migration, Borders, Asylum and Integration, and their actual implementation will start after their adoption by the Council of Ministers.  

The issue of refugee resettlement is one of the three permanent solutions in protracted situations, together with voluntary return and local integration. Bulgaria has joined the processes in solidarity with countries outside the European Union that are hosting large numbers of people fleeing war or persecution. In line with the commitments made, a National Mechanism Framework has been developed which defines the selection teams, the procedure for the practical implementation of the mechanism, the funding and sources of additional funding for the implementation of the process. The National Contact Point is the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers, whose task is to coordinate the preparation and propose for approval by the National Council on Migration, Borders, Asylum and Integration the priority categories and preferences for the form of selection of persons to be accepted under the resettlement scheme in Bulgaria. 

In 2016, a decision of the Council of Ministers approved the Framework of the National Mechanism for the Implementation of Bulgaria's Resettlement Commitments, amended a year later. Based on the document adopted in 2017, a total of 110 persons were approved for resettlement. Statistics show that as of December 31 of that year, there were 85. By a decision of the Council of Ministers in 2022, for the period 2023-2025, Bulgaria committed to resettle 50 persons each year who meet the criteria of Syrian refugees in the region, in particular from the Republic of Turkiye. This operation is financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027.