site.btaBulgaria Backs Push for Stronger EU Return Mechanism for Illegal Migrants from Afghanistan

Interior Minister Daniel Mitov signed a letter to the European Commission (EC), supported by 20 EU and Schengen member states, calling for a coordinated European approach to the return of Afghan citizens who are illegally residing in the EU and have committed crimes, the Ministry of Interior reported on Saturday. The letter states that the inability to return these citizens, either voluntarily or forcibly, undermines public confidence and impacts collective security.

The ministers who signed the letter call on the EC to give this issue the necessary political priority and to seek diplomatic and pragmatic solutions. The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) should be given a greater role in the implementation of voluntary returns and reintegration. The ministers insist on closer cooperation between the EC, the European External Action Service, and the member states for the implementation of an administrative mission in Afghanistan.

On October 14, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, said that the European Union's report on migration will be discussed at the meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg.