site.btaInterior Minister Daniel Mitov Responds to No-confidence Motion Motives

During debates in the plenary hall on the fifth vote of no confidence against the Zhelyazkov Cabinet, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said that with increased traffic after Bulgaria’s accession to Schengen, there has been a decrease in road accident rates. The Minister explained that for the eight months of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, there has been a decrease in all three key indicators characterizing road traffic accidents, including serious accidents, number of fatalities, and number of injuries.

There were 269 fewer serious accidents, 12 fewer fatalities, and 298 fewer injuries, Mitov said, adding that these figures were recorded despite a 20% increase in traffic across the country since Bulgaria joined the Schengen area at the beginning of the year.

He explained that the systematic measures taken by the government are a good basis for reducing road accidents in the medium and long term, and other measures will be taken, for which Parliament will have to make the necessary legislative changes.

Firefighting system

Mitov noted that one of the biggest lies in the no-confidence motion motives is that the firefighting system is failing. He presented data showing that in July and August, Bulgarian firefighters extinguished nearly 10,000 fires, with over 5,000 firefighters participating in the extinguishing efforts. In 2025, new high-clearance pickups, high-pressure systems, thousands of sets of protective clothing, and drones were delivered to the fire department. He also noted that EC President Ursula von der Leyen cited Bulgarian firefighters as an example of professionalism and courage.

Border police and illegal migration

Since the beginning of 2025, there has been a dramatic reduction in migrant pressure, with a 70% decrease compared to the previous year, and in the first eight months, attempts to cross the border have significantly decreased, with their number equal to those in a single week in August 2023, the Interior Minister said.

This year and last year, 12 organized crime groups involved in illegal migration were broken up. The border police have been equipped with over 500 high-clearance vehicles. Four hundred new officers have been appointed and are currently in training, and another 400 will join in December.

The upgrade of all technical security systems at the border continues – this year, over 30 drones have been purchased, 18 km of new video surveillance with sensor lines have been built and put into operation, and a radio-location and anti-drone system is being built, Mitov added.

Drugs

Addressing the no-confidence motion sponsors, Mitov noted that during their previous two years in office, less than 15 kg of cocaine have been seized. According to the data he presented, in the first eight months of this Cabinet's work alone, almost 400 kg of cocaine, 2.5 tonnes of marijuana, and nearly 13 tonnes of cannabis were seized. There were also 5.1 times more amphetamine tablets seized than in 2024 and 2.5 times more than in 2023. Sixty-seven greenhouses, 65 cannabis fields, and 30 laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs were uncovered.

Cigarette smuggling

In the first year of your administration, 2021, 4.5 million illegal cigarettes were seized, and in the first eight months of this year, the number was 24 times higher, or 107 million cigarettes, commented Daniel Mitov, raising the question of whether this was a failure and a “cover-up.” He recalled that in July, a factory for illegal cigarettes was raided in the village of Momkovo, Svilengrad, which was the largest facility of its kind discovered in the country, and the quantity of cigarettes seized was the largest captured by the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime in the last ten years.

Regarding the Academy of the Ministry of Interior and the personnel it trains, Mitov commented that this was one of the most absurd motives for a vote of no confidence and stated that it was ridiculous to attack this institution with empty insinuations and slander. “All those who are alleged to have irregular diplomas have been admitted to the academy's master's programmes in accordance with the relevant procedures, for which there are official records, and they have attended classes in accordance with the academic schedule,” he said, adding that diplomas are issued to all students after they have fulfilled the necessary requirements of the curriculum and earned the required credits in their major.