On Monday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (both ÖVP) will visit Bulgaria and also travel to the border with Turkey. Austria wants to support Bulgaria with border security – they demand EU funds for fencing systems and more capacity for the EU border security agency Frontex. Bloody incidents continue to take place on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. In the summer, two Bulgarian police officers guarding the EU’s external border were killed when a towed bus collided with a police car (see video above).
Nehammer had already announced the visit to Bulgaria when Bulgarian President Rumen Radev visited the New Year’s concert in Vienna. During his stay at the border and in Sofia on Monday, the chancellor wants to discuss the subject again with Radev and then also with Bulgarian Prime Minister Galab Donev. The visit takes place more than two weeks before a special EU summit on migration in Brussels. Interior Minister Karner met the new Frontex boss Hans Leijtens in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Radev will receive Nehammer at Plovdiv airport, the Bulgarian presidential chancellery announced on Friday, according to BTA news agency. Radev and Nehammer then visit the Regional Directorate of Border Police in Elkhovo in southeastern Bulgaria, where a regional coordination center is located. The center is part of an integrated surveillance system of the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The Bulgarian delegation also includes Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev and Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov.
NGO locates “mistreatment by Bulgarian authorities”
The NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on Karner and Nehammer to get an overview of the human rights and humanitarian and medical situation of the refugees on the ground. Marcus Bachmann, MSF Austria’s humanitarian affairs adviser, shared stories of people “talking about mistreatment by the Bulgarian authorities”.
Protests and disappointment after Austrian Schengen veto
Austria vetoed Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession to Schengen in December due to illegal migration. This caused protests and disappointment in both Bulgaria and Romania. In the case of Bulgaria, the Netherlands had also expressed its concerns about Schengen membership. Nevertheless, both Balkan countries were convinced that they would be able to join the border-free Schengen area before the end of this year. A later date is seen as difficult because of the European elections in 2024. Due to the strong interdependence, the EU also wants to include both countries in Schengen.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
