Macedonia

During a question and answer session in parliament on Friday, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that he expects the main migrant threat to come from the border with Greece.

Borisov was not scheduled to participate in the question and answer session, but he appeared in parliament to respond to MP's enquiries.

Bulgaria's Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev has requested an additional BGN 1.5 M (EUR 750,000) to provide essential equipment to army personnel taking part in border protection and control jointly with police, BNR public radio broadcaster reported.

Bulgarian Army troops are holding a joint training exercise with border police units at Ilinden, a crossing at the country's border with Greece, the Defence Ministry announced on Thursday.

Bulgaria will deliver humanitarian assistance to refugees and migrants at Tabanovce transit center near Kumanovo in neighbouring  Macedonia on Thursday, the government in Sofia has said.

The aid consisting of mineral water and food supplies has been provided by the Bulgarian Red Cross and Bulgarian companies, the government press office said in a statement.

Bulgaria and Serbia have agreed to help each other monitor and control the migration flow across their territories and share relevant information, Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev has said.

Around a hundred migrants on Wednesday blocked the Evzonoi border crossing between Greece and Macedonia, on the Greek side of the border.

Beta agency reported this quoting Macedonia's TV Telma.

Bulgaria has bolstered security at both external and internal borders of the EU, the Interior Ministry's Chief Secretary Georgi Kostov has said.

Kostov has told the Bulgarian National Television that "100% border control" is currently being implemented in relation to the attacks that killed at least 31 people in Brussels on Tuesday.

A new corridor might be opened up through Bulgaria for migrants heading to Western Europe, Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner warned on Sunday.

In an interview with public broadcaster ÖRF, she urged the closure of what she called the "Eastern Balkans migrant route".

Balkan neighbours Bulgaria and Macedonia have agreed to conduct joint air and land operations for border control and protection in the context of the migration crisis in the coming days, the government in Sofia announced on Thursday.

The agreement was reached in a telephone conversation between Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov.

A document reveals that Greek PM Alexis Tsipras had signed a joint statement with the President of France, Francois Hollande in Paris during the meeting of socialist leaders on March 12, where FYROM was referred to as ‘Macedonia’.