Migration pressure on Bulgaria’s border with Greece is increasing

Migration pressure on Bulgaria is increasing, the Ministry of Interior said on October 2.

100 people daily attempt to enter Bulgaria illegally from Greece, but are detained on Greek territory, said Deputy Interior Minister Stefan Balabanov.

Since the beginning of the year, 1,587 illegal migrants have been detained in Bulgaria, which is about 11% more than in 2018. Some 80,000 are the illegal entries into the EU. There has been an increase in illegal arrivals through Italy, Greece, Montenegro and Spain.

The new EC should finalise the reform of the pan-European asylum system, and the Dublin Regulation – this is the position MPs and experts agreed at a round table on migration held in Parliament.

Stefan Balabanov, Deputy Minister of Interior explained that the increase of migrants to Bulgaria is by 100 people a day. Generally, we didn't have one until a few months ago. When our thermal cameras and other means of location capture them a kilometre from our border, we interact with the Greek authorities and they detain them, we do not detain them on our territory, he said..

Michael Spindelegger, International Centre for Migration Policy Development: Asylum applications lodged in the EU for the first six months of the year are 307,000, an increase of about 7% from last year and expected to increase by the end of the year more. We need a new pan-European migration system that shares the responsibility for migrants jointly with the Member States.