site.btaInterior Minister: Illegal Crossing Attempts at Turkish Border Down

Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov Friday told journalists in the southern city of Pazardzhik that the migrant pressure situation on this country’s borders has been calm for the last two months. "The number of attempts to illegally cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border has dropped significantly," he added.

"The number of arrests in the country’s interior has also dropped," Stoyanov noted.

He said that for these actions, Bulgaria had received "tremendously high praise not only from the European Commission but from Austria". The Minister stressed the importance of the number of thwarted attempts to illegally cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border, adding that it stands at 170,000.

Stoyanov said that he does not expect migrant pressure in connection with the crisis in the Middle East.

In Pazardzhik, he attended a solemn oath-taking ceremony of the newly-graduated trainees at the Interior Ministry Academy’s Specialization and Vocational Training Centre.

Following the ceremony, Stoyanov said that 108 officers of the Border Police General Directorate were sworn in on Friday, and another 128 officers are expected to join in next April. He added that the largest recruitment campaign for border guards, who number 218, was announced 20 days ago.

“I believe that we will be able to replenish the personnel and the Border Police will be staffed at almost full capacity for the first time. Most of the officers will be deployed mainly at the Bulgarian-Turkish and the Bulgarian-Serbian borders,” Stoyanov added.