Rumyana Bachvarova

Bulgarian Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said the government does not plan to set up new accommodation centers for migrants.

While on a visit to the border areas between Bulgaria and Turkey, she has voiced the cabinet's confidence the existing infrastructure will help address the current inflow of migrants.

The state is ready to erect tent camps and caravans, if migrant pressure increases, stated Interior Minister, Rumyana Bachvarova in Haskovo.

Since the beginning of the year, BGN 1.4 B more have been collected in taxes, compared to the previous year, stated Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova when asked what is being done in the fight against smuggling.

Bachvarova pointed out that over 46 million cigarettes, over 91,000 litres of alcohol and over 79,000 litres of fuel have been confiscated.

The expulsion from Bulgaria of the Turkish businessman Abdullah Buyuk is worrisome in a human aspect but there can be no exceptions in a situation where there are foreigners illegally entering the country, stated Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova.

A Hungarian police unit with full technical equipment will patrol the Serbian-Bulgarian border, announced Serbian Interior Minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic.

 The Minister added that the authorities in Belgrade have already asked the Austrian and French police for assistance. According to him, additional foreign forces will contribute to "the stability and security of state frontiers".

Bulgaria has been offered help for the construction of fences along the Bulgarian-Greek border but it has rejected the proposal, stated the Minister of Interior, Rumyana Bachvarova.

"I have talked with my Serbian counterpart and he has assured me that the flow of migrants from Bulgaria is not as heavy as reported a few months ago," added Bachvarova.

The Bulgarian parliament adopted the draft amendments to the Interior Ministry Act at first reading on Friday.

After two hours of discussions, 116 MPs voted in favour of the amendments, thirty lawmakers were against, while twelve abstained, dnevnik.bg informs.

Bulgarian Prime Miniser Boyko Borisov assured on Sunday that the border with Greece has not been breached by migrants, as had been implied by some media, adding that the country managed to carry out one of the quickest readmission of refugees ever achieved in Europe.

The controversial mayor of Galiche, Tsenko Chokov, has been detained in a specialised police operation conducted in the village on Thursday.

The operation is carried out by the interior ministry's General Directorate Countering Organised Crime (GDBOP) under the guidance of the specialised prosecutor's office.

In about two months Bulgaria will have a wire fence built along 146 km of the country's border with Turkey, preventing illegal migration flow, Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova has said.

Bachvarova, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev on Saturday inspected the entire length of the fence built so far along Bulgaria's border with Turkey.