site.btaBulgaria Begins Implementing New EU Migration and Asylum Rules

Bulgaria's State Agency for Refugees (SAR) is ready to implement the requirements of the European Union's Pact on Migration and Asylum, which entered into force on Friday, SAR Chair Ivan Ivanov said, as quoted by the agency's press office.

Ivanov explained that the pact introduces a border procedure that is entirely new to Bulgaria's asylum system. The procedure allows applications for international protection to be processed within significantly shorter timeframes and enables faster returns directly from the external border.

He recalled that the pact was proposed by the European Commission in 2020 with the aim of establishing long-term, pragmatic and sustainable solutions for managing migration across the EU and creating a balanced Common European Asylum System.

In line with the new requirements and in close coordination with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), SAR has developed a roadmap for implementing the Reception Conditions Directive, as well as guidelines issued by its chair on the application of regulations governing asylum procedures, migration and asylum management, and standards for granting international protection.

Under the Eurodac Regulation, the existing database will be transformed into a more comprehensive migration and asylum database designed to ensure the clear identification of every person entering the European Union. The agency added that the regulation also broadens the categories of vulnerable persons and introduces more precise procedures for assessing their needs.

SAR said it is working closely with the Border Police General Directorate, the Interior Ministry's Migration Directorate, the State Agency for National Security (SANS), and their European partner agencies, including Europol and Frontex, to implement the new requirements.

The reform of the European asylum framework, known as the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), enters into force on Friday. According to dpa, the tighter migration rules are intended to strengthen procedures at the EU's external borders and reduce secondary movements of asylum seekers within the Union, such as travel from Greece or Italy to Germany.