site.btaIncrease in Detained Traffickers, Migrants Following Border Opening, Says Interior Minister Daniel Mitov

Following the opening of the borders, the number of detained individuals has increased – both for drug trafficking and for transporting illegal migrants, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said during a press briefing on Monday. The minister, along with European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner and Greek Deputy Minister for Migration and Asylum Sevi Voloudaki, visited the Kulata – Promachonas border checkpoint. Mitov clarified that the control will continue both at the Bulgarian-Greek border and within Bulgaria’s interior.

Looking ahead, Mitov emphasized the need to improve infrastructure to ensure that Bulgarians, as well as European Union citizens, can travel faster and reach their destinations smoothly. "It is very important to highlight that the way in which checks will continue remains a challenge," noted Mitov. He explained that this involves so-called compensatory measures, conducted based on complex risk analysis. "These are European practices," the minister added.

In response to a BTA question regarding the heavy road traffic in the area around Kresna, the Interior Minister stated that everything within the control of the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works will be done to ease the flow of vehicles heading to Greece. He mentioned that earlier in the day a meeting was held at the Regional Ministry, where Regional Minister Ivan Ivanov, together with Interior Ministry representatives, the Road Infrastructure Agency, and the regional administration, discussed the traffic situation in Kresna in connection with the ongoing summer season.

"There will certainly be slow-moving traffic and difficulties, but we will do everything possible to ease the situation," Mitov added.

"I will not comment before the decision of President Rumen Radev," said the Interior Minister, when asked about the appointment of the new Secretary General of the Interior Ministry.