site.btaInterior Minister Stoyanov Confers with Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer Grimheden

Bulgarian caretaker Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov conferred here on Friday with European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO) Jonas Grimheden, Stoyanov's Ministry said in a press release.

Grimheden is visiting Sofia at the invitation of the Director of the Interior Ministry's Border Police General Directorate, Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov.

"Bulgaria's key priority is to strike the right balance between protecting the EU external borders and respecting the fundamental rights of detained irregular migrants and international protection seekers," Stoyanov told the FRO.

Their conversation focused on Bulgaria's strict adherence to EU and international legislation in the sphere of respect for fundamental rights.

For 15 years now, the Bulgarian Border Police has been working in close partnership with the UNHCR Representative's Office in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee so as to ensure impartial monitoring and control of the Border Police officers' activities. A 'zero tolerance' policy is pursued towards violations of human rights and cases of abuse and violence. The Interior Minister stressed that he had personally committed to making sure that each alert will be followed up impartially and fully and that the strictest measures will be taken when violations are detected.

The Frontex Fundamental Rights Office is ready to help Bulgaria's efforts in this area, and a complex of joint measures has been developed and is already implemented. The highlights of the complex include the deployment of Frontex Standing Corps officers in areas under high migration pressure, enhancement of interaction and improvement of knowledge of the procedures and practices responsible for respect for fundamental rights, and involvement of Frontex in the monitoring mechanisms for respect for fundamental rights.

Earlier on Friday, Chief Commissioner Zlatanov familiarized Grimheden with the migration pressure along the Bulgarian-Turkish border and the measures taken by the Border Police General Directorate to keep the balance between security and respect for fundamental human rights, the press release says.