Bulgarian PM holds special meeting on migrant crossings at Greek border
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov called together senior officials for a special meeting in the south-west Bulgarian town of Blagoevgrad on May 29 to discuss the situation at the Greek border, against a background of close to 90 people having been caught trying to enter Bulgaria illegally in the past day.
Fifty-six of the 87 people who had crossed into Bulgaria illegally already had been returned to Greece, Border Police chief Antonio Angelov said on May 29. The group had been found in a goods train.
The rest would be returned within up to 10 days after the processing of documents and completion of pre-trial proceedings, Angelov said.
The meeting called by Borissov included Interior Minister Roumyana Buchvarova, Border Police chief Angelov, regional governor Bisser Mihailov and mayors from the region.
Control at the Bulgarian-Greek border had been stepped up because of the increase in illegal crossings. Military personnel were deployed to assist Border Police.
After the meeting in Blagoevgrad, part of the ministerial team went on to inspect the situation at the Kulata border checkpoint.
Angelov said that previous drills had enabled Bulgarian authorities to respond very rapidly to the situation.
Borissov said that no other country in Europe reacted as rapidly in returning refugees. He said that there was no “breakthrough” of the Bulgarian border.
