Bulgaria is Strengthening the Defense of its Borders

The Bulgarian Minister of Interior Boyko Rashkov plans to significantly increase the number of border guards. He has submitted a proposal for changes in the structural regulations of the Ministry of Interior, which create an opportunity to use the reserve of unallocated staff for the needs of the General Directorate of Border Police.

The strengthening of the protection of our state border is motivated by the forthcoming commissioning of the European Union Entry / Exit System (ETIAS) for its external borders and the Schengen area, established in 2017. It will also apply at our internal borders, where checks have not been removed, but with simplified procedures.

All member states must meet the requirements for the introduction of the system by September 2022.

It includes a verification mechanism for compliance with the permitted period of short stay in the Member States, which registers electronically the time and place of entry and exit of third-country nationals. It will replace the stamping of third-country national passports.

The preparation for the commissioning of the system for Bulgaria is related to the reorganization of the working processes of the border checkpoints and the introduction of new equipment - construction of the national components for integration with the system at land, sea, river and air borders - 27 border checkpoints; construction of passenger terminals for border inspection of bus passengers; provision of new technical equipment at the borders - devices for taking biometrics and reserving the network devices providing access to the border checkpoints. At air and land border crossings with passenger terminals, the options for border checks in the conditions of ETIAS may include the installation of electronic...