site.btaRefugees Agency Launches Pilot EU Project for Refugee Children

The State Agency for Refugees (SAR) with the Council of Ministers is launching Bulgaria’s first pilot project aimed at alternative social services for unaccompanied refugee children, the agency’s press release reported on Thursday. SAR Chair Ivan Ivanov said that the project is also a first for the European Union.

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with Burgas, Ivaylovgrad, Malko Tarnovo, and Tundzha municipalities, as well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF Bulgaria.

A significant number of refugees and migrants arriving in Bulgaria are unaccompanied minors, added Ivanov. These children face multiple risks during their journeys, including violence, sexual exploitation, trafficking, forced marriage, and severe emotional and psychological stress.

The plan under the project is to establish specialized social services in four locations across the country, with two of the sites offering multiple care services. The goal is to create safe living conditions and deliver high-quality, accessible, and cross-sectoral care for unaccompanied refugee children.

The project will be officially presented on July 29 in the Granite Hall of the Council of Ministers. Among the invited guests are Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, Deputy Prime Ministers Atanas Zafirov and Tomislav Donchev, Ministers Daniel Mitov, Borislav Gutsanov, and Georgi Georgiev, as well as representatives of the European Commission, international organizations, state agencies, the National Association of Municipalities, and other partners of SAR.