Bulgaria’s Interior Minister: We will Extend the Protection of Ukrainian Refugees, but We have to Differentiate between Tourists

"We will continue the protection of Ukrainian refugees. We created an operational headquarters, which I head, with three working groups. We monitor which practices are standard across the EU and will implement them."

This was stated by the Acting Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Demerdzhiev during a blitz control in the parliament in response to a question from the deputy of "Democratic Bulgaria" Kremena Kuneva, who asked him whether the Council of Ministers intends to extend the temporary protection granted to Ukrainian citizens.

Kuneva pointed out that the European directives make it possible to extend the protection and that each member state can make an independent decision.

"After the protection expires, these people lose their health rights, their right to work, their children lose their right to education and health care. This deadline is not far in time, I would like to know what the Ministry of Justice will do, considering the fact that many Bulgarian businesses they have already hired these people and they also need a forecast of what will happen in February," Kremena Kuneva said.

Demerdzhiev explained that the main task of the headquarters is to help the integration of refugees who will stay in Bulgaria for a long time, and to provide them with all the necessary care.

"It is important to distinguish them from the Ukrainian tourists who flooded the country in recent months. Now that we have identified who these people are who need help, we can act," said Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev.