site.bta4.5-Plus Mln People Cross Bulgarian-Greek Border in 2023

A total of 4 538 629 people crossed the Bulgarian-Greek border in 2023, the Interior Ministry said on Monday in response to a journalist's inquiry. Last year, 27 foreigners were detained for crossing the "green" border and 22 people for illegally crossing at checkpoints. Migration pressure at the Bulgarian-Greek border is very low and the border is not preferred for migrants to cross, the Interior Ministry said.

Those detained at the "green" border, entering Bulgarian territory, are nationals of Afghanistan, Syria, Morocco. Eight Nepalis were detained while trying to cross into Greece. Four third-country nationals have been returned to Greece. Twenty-two nationals of Morocco, Syria, Palestine, Bangladesh and Turkey were arrested for illegally crossing the border. Forty-nine pre-trial proceedings were launched for trespassing of the Bulgarian-Greek border last year, and 46 persons were charged. Compared with the previous year, there were 41% fewer pre-trial proceedings.

At the border crossings on the Bulgarian-Greek border in 2023, 65 cases of 90 persons carrying illegally excise goods were detected. In 54 cases, 3.8 million cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos were smuggled. Most cases of illegal trafficking of excise goods were detected through the Makaza border crossing.

The number of people crossing the Bulgarian-Greek border increased by 9% compared with 2022. Traffic through Kulata and Makaza increased the most. The low was mainly made up from Bulgarians and citizens of Germany, Greece, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine. The incoming traffic was twice as much as those travelling through the border crossings in the direction of Greece. At Makaza, the number of people entering Bulgarian territory was four times higher than those crossing to the south.