site.btaEuropean Commission Reports Positive Results from EU Support for Protection of Bulgarian, Romanian External Borders

The European Commission (EC) Monday reported positive results from European Union's (EU) support for the protection of the external borders of Bulgaria and Romania. Progress has been made in returning migrants without the right to stay in the EU, asylum procedures have been improved and the fight against smugglers has been significantly improved, said Olivier Onidi, EC Deputy Director General for Migration and Home Affairs, who spoke to MEPs from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

He noted that since last March the EC has provided funding for these activities. Onidi highlighted that the EC has been able to improve cooperation at all levels, which has led to an increased presence of Frontex - the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.

Border Police Director Anton Zlatanov noted that EU's most challenging land border is the one between Bulgaria and Turkiye. "We invest huge resources in its protection and, to our great regret, in 2022 and 2023 six Bulgarian policemen died in the line of duty," he added.

Zlatanov also agreed that European support has brought many benefits, including speeding up the procedures for examining asylum applications. More than 98% of the applications were examined under this procedure, he specified.

"Our main priority is to effectively counter migrant smuggling and save lives," Zlatanov said. He drew attention to the cooperation with Turkiye and added that this is key to reducing the migrant pressure on Europe. "We have greatly improved our interaction with the Turkish authorities in the last year. Trust has been built, the results of which are that the situation at the EU's external border is now calm," he explained.

Zlatanov said that Bulgaria is ready to work with the EC on a national plan for the implementation of the new European legislation on migration. "We are showing zero tolerance to the violation of fundamental rights," Zlatanov said in response to a MEP's question related to the protection of migrants' rights and the allegations that there are cases of pushback of migrants along the Bulgarian border. In his words, it is impossible to repel migrants because of the actions of the Turkish authorities. He explained that last year Bulgarian border guards prevented about 180,000 attempts of illegal entry into the country.

Romanian Secretary of State Mihai Necula said that Romanian border guards have undertaken joint patrols with their Serbian counterparts and this has led to a sustained reduction in the number of illegal entries of migrants from the Serbian side.

EU Agency for Asylum Executive Director Nina Gregori noted that Bulgaria has received close to 100 interpreters for the migrant centres. She added that EU is helping to digitize the activities of the Bulgarian State Agency for Refugees.

Desislava Todorova of Border Violence Monitoring Network argued that the implementation of the EU project on border security in the country is carried out without accountability and discussion. She insisted that measures should be taken against the repulsion of migrants, which is often associated with humiliation.