A relative increase in the flow of refugees in Bulgaria is expected in 2011 resulting from this country’s accession to the Schengen Area. From next year however the process will be back to normal, experts said. With a view to the increasing commitments of the country and to the need to guarantee the security of the EU outer borders and counter illicit migration, a National Strategy in Migration, Asylum and Integration 2011-2020 was adopted by the Council of Ministers earlier this year.
Some 1000 individuals annually seek asylum in Bulgaria. A peak of asylum seekers was seen in 2001-2003 when the armed conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq raged with the greatest intensity. In 2002 alone 5000 looked for asylum in this country. After that their numbers began to decline reaching a low of just 600 in 2006. Over the last two years Bulgaria has seen a new peak in asylum seekers’ numbers. During the first trimester of 2011 the refugees who applied for protection from Bulgaria were 274, and 38 have been granted asylum. For the time being this country is more of a transit point rather that a final destination for refugees. Most of them prefer to settle in European countries with higher standards of living. Nevertheless it is important to find out more about the risks Bulgaria is faced with by a major refugee flow from North Africa and the Middle East that have recently become the scene of armed conflicts.
“We do not have any information so far about a major refugee flow into Bulgaria via Turkey. If refugees try to enter Bulgaria through Greece, the latter is the first EU country and has to handle the pressure”, Rumen Syarov from the State Refugee Agency explains in an interview for Radio Bulgaria. “Deputy PM Tsvetan Tsvetanov also said that according to data from the Ministry of the Interior there was no immediate threat of migration pressure. We keep in touch with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that has its representatives in all conflict-ridden countries; with the International Organization for Migration and with the European agency in charge of cooperation along the EU outer borders, FRONTEX.”
A new Transit Center at the State Refugee Agency, with an accommodation capacity of 300, should open by end-May as part of the fulfillment of this country’s commitments under Schengen. It is based in the village of Pastrogor, close to Bulgaria’s border with Turkey. The center has been built with financing from the EU Phare Programme. In what way will the center improve the work of the State Refugee Agency?
“The Transit Center in Pastrogor is a very important unit of the agency”, Rumen Syarov said. “Currently the agency has two units, a reception and registration center in Sofia and another such center near the southern town of Nova Zagora. The two centers’ capacity however is insufficient and the new Transit Center is expected to fill in the gap. It is close to the Specialized Center for Temporary Accommodation of Foreign Nationals in the village of Lyubimets, at the Migration Directorate of the Interior Ministry. The centers being close to each other will help facilitate coordination between institutions. For example, if an economic immigrant is refused protection he will be moved to the center in Lyubimets where from he will either be taken out of the country, sent to a third country or to his country of origin”.
Similar to other EU member states Bulgaria is entitled to financial support from the European Refugee Fund for more successful implementation of refugee integration policies. Last year the financing allocated to this country came to EUR 935,000.
Translated by Daniela Konstantinova
