site.btaBulgarian Delegation Visits Austrian Border

A Bulgarian delegation led by the Chief Commissioner Border Police Director Anton Zlatanov visited the Austrian Nickelsdorf border checkpoint, said the Border Police General Directorate on Wednesday.

The purpose of the visit to the Austro-Hungarian border, which was also attended by Romanian and Hungarian representatives, was to observe the organization of the work of the Austrian authorities after the re-introduction of border control at the country's internal borders. Identical measures are expected to come into force after January 1, 2025 at the Bulgarian-Romanian and Romanian-Hungarian borders for a period of 6 months.

Unlike the 100% border control implemented so far, these checks will be specifically oriented towards countering cross-border crime and migrant smuggling, without hindering the movement of citizens.

In this sense, the easing of the workload will be noticeable not only on the Bulgarian-Greek border, where a set of compensatory measures will be applied in the border area, but also on the Bulgarian-Romanian border, where border checks will filter only identified risky vehicles and passengers.

The implementation of this temporary measure is fully consistent with the principles of the Schengen Borders Code, as its aim is to provide a proportionate response to the current challenges facing European security, while at the same time preserving freedom of movement.

Over the past year, Bulgaria and Romania have made significant efforts, which have unequivocally proven that their admission to Schengen and land borders does not pose additional risks to the internal security of the Schengen area. On the contrary, this fact will further strengthen the interaction between law enforcement agencies to achieve concrete results. An example of this is the current meeting, during which the possibility of it developing into a regular initiative was discussed, the Border Police added.