27 Nov

Bulgaria to Receive Support Guarding Its Border With Türkiye After Full Schengen Accession

After Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Zone, one hundred border police officers from Romania, Hungary, and Austria will be deployed to guard Bulgaria’s border with Türkiye, Border Police Director Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov said.

Authorities in Bulgaria also announced that they had recruited over 1000 extra people to guard the border with Türkiye, arguing that this would help to reduce migrant pressure by 70 per cent, Schengen.News reports. 

Zlatanov expressed his belief that the full membership of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Zone will be finalised soon. 

According to him, the Bulgarian-Romanian border will remain for six months under border controls similar to those currently implemented in other Schengen Zone countries. He emphasised that border controls will be done based on the risk assessment.

The Bulgarian border police chief said that in the first five months of 2025, the situation will be analysed, and it will be decided when this measure will be put to an end.

Increasing Number of Officers Deployed at Bulgarian-Turkish Border 
Authorities in Bulgaria have intensified their efforts in a bid to strengthen border management. 

The Frontex executive director, Hans Leijtens, announced the deployment of 500 to 600 Frontex officers to guard the EU’s external border in Bulgaria. 

Back then, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) unfolded plans to triple the number of officers in this country. 

Irregular migration concerns were among the main reasons that led Austria to oppose the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen Zone. Therefore, both countries entered the Schengen Area only through air and sea. 

However, following the meeting of November 22, held between the interior ministers of Hungary, Austria, Romania, and Bulgaria, Austria decided to lift its veto, paving the way for full membership of these two Balkan countries to the Schengen Zone. 

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said that a vote regarding the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU’s visa-free travel area could be anticipated for December 12-13, following the next European Union Council for Justice and Home Affairs meeting, in which a vote is also part of the agenda. 

Johansson expressed her hopes that by January 2025, land border controls for Romania and Bulgaria would be lifted.

Source: https://schengen.news/bulgaria-to-receive-support-guarding-its-border-with-turkiye-after-full-schengen-accession/