site.btaBorder Police Chief: It Will Be Relief for Citizens when We Join Schengen

It will be a relief for citizens when we are accepted in Schengen, but for people who commit criminal activities - the controls will remain. This is what Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, Director of the Border Police Directorate General, told journalists on Friday. He accompanied caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev during his visit to the Kulata border crossing checkpoint.

Zlatanov explained that Bulgaria's two borders with Greece and Romania will not remain uncontrolled upon Bulgaria's accession to Schengen. “We will continue to strictly implement our obligations to counter illegal migration, to counter the smuggling of drugs and other prohibited goods and items. Our role here is to carry out risk analysis and checks, to carry out controls that will be in the border area, not at the checkpoint, and in a way that we deem relevant,” Zlatanov added.

“We have been an extremely good partner in recent years, extremely open to exchanges under the Schengen information system. European Union member states, but also our other partners outside the EU, are extremely satisfied,” the Chief Commissioner said. He added that the institutions will gradually reorganize their work to ensure the security of citizens by increasing analytical and operational intelligence activities.