Bucharest, May 19 (BTA/GNA) – Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev took part in the “Migration and Border Security: New Challenges for Europe” Panel within the Seventh Edition of the International Conference “Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum” in Bucharest, his Ministry said on Friday. The panel was also attended by the Romanian and Moldovan Interior Ministers. The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, participated through a pre-recorded message and said that her priority is the Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania this year.
Demerdzhiev briefed the audience on the migration situation in Bulgaria. He noted that last year there were more than 168,000 attempts of illegal migrants to enter Bulgarian territory. “This year, the trend is even more worrying because the attempts have increased by nearly 30%,” he said, adding that despite this difficult situation, Bulgaria is countering those attempts much better: “During these months we have detained 50% fewer migrants who have managed to enter Bulgaria.”
Demerdzhiev predicted that the flows of illegal migrants to Europe will not decrease and may even continue to increase. Europe must be ready, he warned, and outlined the pillars on which the fight against this issue should be built – preventive work with the countries of origin, good management of the EU’s external borders and countering cross-border crime linked to irregular migration. “I am very happy that we have help and support from the European Commission and I hope it will increase,” the Interior Minister said.
He also stressed the importance of good cooperation with Turkiye In his words, the cooperation with Serbia to counter secondary migration is also improving.
BTA/GNA