The lasting tendency of a decline in the migratory pressure towards Bulgaria continues, caretaker Interior Minister Katlin Stoyanov said at the opening of a safe zone for unaccompanied children at the Registration and Reception Refugee Centre in Harmanli.

Since the beginning of the year, 12,000 persons from third countries have attempted to cross the Bulgaria-Turkey border illegally, as compared to 42,000 for the same period of 2023. Fewer people have been detained in the country’s interior as well. “The situation is absolutely calm, the capacity of the Interior Ministry centres is filled at no more than 25%,” Minister Stoyanov said.  

“I do not believe the flows of migrants will end. With the new conflicts – especially the one in the Middle East – I think this flow will increase in the coming years,” Vice President Iliana Iotova, who also attended the event, told reporters. In her words, more and more unaccompanied children are entering the country.

Photos: BTA