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Friday, March 25, 2016

Bulgarian PM Expects Main Migrant Threat to Come from Greek Border

During a question and answer session in parliament on Friday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that he expects the main migrant threat to come from the border with Greece. Borisov was not scheduled to participate in the question and answer session, but he appeared in parliament to respond to MP's enquiries. He commented the latest developments after the closure of the Western Balkan migrant route and the joint training between Bulgaria's police and army conducted at the country's borders. According to him, the main threat might originate from the Greek border which is very long and unprotected. He is particularly concerned that the Greek government has not taken measures in the past few months. The prime minister reminded that in the past days Bulgaria has provided humanitarian aid to the refugee centres in Macedonia as it had previously done to Greece. In his words, the conditions at the refugee centres in Macedonia are much better than those in Greece. According to him, the conditions in the Greek refugee centres are “appalling”, reiterating that he expects the real problem to come from Greece. Borisov assured that Bulgaria has readiness to even erect a light wire fence along its border with Greece if the need arises. Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev reaffirmed on Thursday the country's readiness to construct a light wire fence along the border with Greece in preparation for an eventual increase in migrant pressure. The prime minister added that Macedonian authorities have information on the new migrant routes emerging, which has been shared with Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security (DANS). Apart from cooperation between the security services of the two countries, the exchange of information at the level of ministers is also continuing. For the moment, migrants are avoiding Bulgaria as they are aware that they have to be registered upon entering the country. Borisov also commented the joint training “”Border 2016” conducted by border police and the army which is aimed at assessing the country's capacity to react in the event of a heightened migrant pressure on its borders. The prime minister noted that the training is held at several locations, adding that at present such drills are taking place in the area of Gotse Delchev. He is not expecting surprises to come from Turkey and at present there is low pressure at the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Borisov also revealed that the state is preparing measures for guarding Russian tourists who are expected to visit Bulgaria during the summer. The measures are similar to the ones which have been in place for Israeli tourists after the 2012 terrorist attack at the airport in Burgas, which claimed the lives of one Bulgarian and five Israeli tourists.


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