site.bta Schengen Coordinator Olivier Onidi: Progress in Fight against Human Trafficking Is Visible to EU Partners

Within the framework of a two-day visit to Sofia, Deputy Director-General in charge of Schengen & Internal Security, and Schengen Coordinator Olivier Onidi said that the significant progress in border controls, returns and the fight against human trafficking are visible for all European Union (EU) partners, quoted by the press centre of the Interior Ministry on Thursday.

Onidi, representatives of the Interior Ministry and the State Agency for Refugees (SAR) discussed Bulgaria's preparations for the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, as well as a review of the ongoing strategic cooperation in migration and asylum management, which is a continuation of pilot project implemented in 2023. A presentation was made on the organization set up to implement all the commitments stemming from the Pact's legislation in the next two years. It was noted that the pilot project and the current strategic cooperation are important steps in preparation for their implementation, the Interior Ministry said.

A roundtable with representatives of the NGO sector and international organizations was also held to present the preparations for the implementation of the Covenant. The discussion underscored that this is an ambitious and comprehensive task, requiring a lot of efforts and resources from the state institutions, and therefore the support of the European Commission and EU agencies, as well as the open dialogue and cooperation with the NGO sector, are of utmost importance, the press release said. Representatives of international and non-governmental organizations expressed their readiness to participate in the working groups for preparation in the different areas of implementation of the Covenant and stressed the need to take measures to build the necessary capacity, strengthen human resources and adequately train staff in all the state institutions involved.

The round table was chaired by the Deputy Interior Minister Stoyan Temelakiev. Representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the State Security Agency, the Ombudsman's Office the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, the National Legal Aid Bureau, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the Bulgarian Red Cross, the representations in Bulgaria of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and UNICEF, Caritas Bulgaria, the Legal Aid Centre - Voice in Bulgaria and the Foundation for Access to Rights - FAR took part in the meeting.

Caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov said on Wednesday that he had met with Olivier Onidi. They discussed the current migration situation and Bulgaria's preparations for the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum.