The joint contingent for the protection of the Bulgarian-Turkish border is a sign of true European solidarity. This was stated on February 3 by the Minister of Interior, Daniel Mitov, who welcomed a delegation in Svilengrad for the launch of a joint contingent of Bulgarian, Austrian, Romanian and Hungarian officers to guard the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
"In recent years, we have successfully enhanced our cooperation with Austria, proving ourselves as reliable partners. We are ready to continue our active collaboration. The deployment of the joint contingent at the Bulgarian-Turkish border is a positive first step in this direction. This is one of the agreements from the four-party ministerial meeting in Budapest on November 22, 2024. We view this measure as a symbol of genuine European solidarity, and the operation is aptly named 'Solidarity.' Securing external borders cannot and should not be the responsibility of frontline member states alone. The three countries have been participating in activities coordinated by Frontex on Bulgarian territory for years, and we highly appreciate our cooperation so far. We thank them for allocating additional resources to form this joint contingent," said Minister Mitov.
According to him, the work of the contingent will complement the efforts of the Bulgarian border police and the staff of Frontex’s permanent corps at the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
"Thanks to their work so far and the cooperation with Turkey, we are seeing a steady trend of reduced migratory pressure on Bulgaria. The effective protection of this border remains our top priority, and we will work to ensure that the positive results are maintained and further improved. If necessary, additional measures will be outlined. Europe and the EU should be thought of as a whole. We must protect the freedoms we have achieved—freedom of movement for goods, people, and capital. These freedoms can only be safeguarded if the external borders are well protected. Therefore, it is important for all member states to participate in such missions with Frontex’s help, so that we can ensure the best possible security of the EU’s external borders. This will gradually reduce the migratory pressure on them and make it clear that smugglers and illegal migrants have no chance through the Bulgarian-Turkish border," added Mitov.
The joint protection of the Bulgarian-Turkish border was agreed upon in mid-November and became one of the conditions under which Austria lifted its veto on the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to full Schengen membership.
The joint contingent will consist of 100 additional border police officers—25 Bulgarian, 40 Romanian, 20 Hungarian, and 15 Austrian. A visit to the green border area near the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint is planned, along with the signing of a joint document regulating the actions of the contingent.
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