Interior ministry

Draft amentments to the Interior Ministry Act will be put to a debate by full Parliament even though they were rejected by the internal affairs committee earlier this week, Bulgarian Parliament Speaker Tsetska Tsacheva has said.

Tsacheva has told private bTV station a reform is urgently needed at the Interior Ministry in line with efforts of Minister Rumyana Bachvarova.

The Bulgarian government decided to allocate slightly over BGN 5.1 M for the purchase of equipment to be used by the specialised police forces and the gendarmerie.

This was announced by the deputy chief secretary of the interior ministry Georgi Abadzhiev at a briefing on Friday.

Bulgaria responded to Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Brussels by heightening security measures across the country.

A large-scale anti-terrorism training, which has been planned two months ago, will be held in Sofia in the late hours on Tuesday in order to assess the capacity of different state structures to react in the event of crises.

"Serbia is shocked at the way Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister Bozo Petrov is "interfering in its internal affairs."

Serbia's Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic made this statement "in reply to Petrov," Tanjug reported.

A former interim Interior Minister is taking over the State Agency for Refugees, the Bulgarian government has said.

At a cabinet meeting, Petya Parvanova, who oversaw internal affairs under the 2013 caretaker administration of Marin Raykov, has been appointed to the office.

Vanyo Tanov, who headed the Naitonal Customs Agency, died on Monday morning, local media outlets report.

Tanov, 58, reportedly passed away in an ambulance that was en route to hospital.

The Bulgarian National Television, citing unconfirmed sources, reports he felt unwell in the morning but his condition deteriorated in the ambulance.

The Austrian government invited Bulgaria for participation at an extraordinary meeting between the interior and foreign  ministers of the countries along the Western Balkans migrant route.

The invitation was sent by Austria's Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz.

Bulgarian policemen have readiness to stage new protests over the new bill proposing amendments to the Interior Ministry Act.

Trade unions in the sector are scheduled to meet with representatives of the ministry on Wednesday in order to discuss their diverging views over the planned reform, Darik radio informs.

The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) expressed on Monday its indignation at the recent murder of fashion entrepreneur Aleksandar Antov.

Antov, who was the owner of Agressia ("Aggression") fashion company, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the Bistritsa neighbourhood of Sofia early on Saturday.

Serbian Police Director Milorad Veljovic has been relieved of his duties, Tanjug was told at the Interior Ministry (MUP) on Thursday.

The government later during the day confirmed this, saying Veljovic now has a new job - as the prime minister's adviser for regional and national security.