As the election for European Parliament draws nearer, certain politicians have been stepping up the public narrative on the subject of “migrants”, in line with the Kremlin narrative of a “refugee crisis” throughout Europe, the Council of Ministers writes on Facebook, in the Facts against disinformation section.

• Kalin Stoyanov: The clashes between Bulgarians and foreigners in Sofia are not racially motivated

“They want to turn the country away from its European path and standard of living, and have been peddling fear and sowing hatred and insecurity by spreading fake news and making insinuations,” the post reads. “There is no “unprecedented migrant flow” in Bulgaria,” the government states. The centres for migrants are 43% full. “For the whole of 2023, the number of crimes committed by foreign citizens is 287, as against 4,345 crimes perpetrated by Bulgarian citizens. To compare data from 10 years ago - in 2013 the ratio was 285 to 10,221,” the announcement reads.