site.btaVazrazhdane Plans to Propose Legislative Measures Aimed at Immediate Deportation of Refugees Who Do Not Meet Criteria

Vazrazhdane will propose urgent legislative measures aimed at the immediate deportation of refugees who do not meet the criteria for refugee status, the parliamentary group said in a declaration read out in the National Assembly by party leader Kostadin Kostadinov on Wednesday. The declaration criticized successive governments -not just the current Cabinet - for policies that “call into question Bulgaria's civilizational identity”. 

Kostadinov insisted that refugees from Syria be returned, adding that the same should apply to what he referred to as “Ukrainian tourists”. He also called for legislative changes regarding the open labour market in Bulgaria. Kostadinov said that employers must provide adequate pay to retain their workers, adding that “there is a difference between an employer and a slave-owner”.

Kostadinov said that unless Parliament backs the legislative measures proposed by Vazrazhdane, Bulgaria risks becoming a country where Bulgarians are a marginalized minority afraid to walk freely in their own cities. Vazrazhdane will not allow this to happen, Kostadinov said.

In his words, Sofia is currently flooded by illegal migrants. He cited the areas around the Central Baths, Vitosha Blvd, the railway station, the Women's Market, and the city’s old centre as places heavily populated by migrants. “You can hardly see people who speak Bulgarian there,” Kostadinov said. The Vazrazhdane leader presented data, according to which Bulgaria currently hosts more than 100,000 migrants, including 28,000 refugees from Syria and 54,000 from Ukraine. The number of migrants in central Sofia has increased significantly, especially since Bulgaria joined the Schengen area, he added.

“The powers that be are currently turning Bulgaria into a Middle Eastern country with their policy,” Kostadinov added. He said that people living in the area of the Women's Market file complaints to the police daily but none of them have been addressed.