10/10/2023 The President of the National Council of Austria, Wolfgang Sobotka, at the Bulgarian-Turkish border: The efforts made by Bulgaria to secure and protect the border[...]

10/10/2023

The efforts made by the Bulgarian side to secure and protect the border should be appreciated, said Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the National Council of Austria, who visited the Bulgarian-Turkish border together with National Assembly President Rosen Zhelyazkov.

Bulgaria is an extremely important partner for us, Wolfgang Sobotka stressed and added that as a former Minister of Interior, he knows that the job is difficult and appreciates it really highly. We also expect Turkey to take over and fulfill its obligations, the President of the Austrian National Assembly added.

It is very important that we came to the place to see not just another engineering facility and technologies in operation, but how people and the whole system work, National Assembly President Rosen Zhelyazkov stressed. He expressed gratitude for the daily efforts made by the officials and stressed that the data on the prevented attempts at illegal crossing show that the challenge is huge and is a pan-European commitment to guarding the EU's borders. I believe it will be appreciated that Bulgaria is doing the best it can with the help of our Union partners, Rosen Zhelyazkov added.

Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Zhivko Kotsev noted that despite the unprecedented migration pressure, the Bulgarian state has been extremely successful in countering illegal migration. We report an increase in criminal proceedings by more than 75 percent and an increase in convictions by more than 30 percent, he stressed. This is clear evidence that we have the will and are successfully coping with illegal migration both with our resources and thanks to the good cooperation with the partner Services, and especially with the Turkish state, Zhivko Kotsev said.

National Assembly President Rosen Zhelyazkov and National Council of Austria President Wolfgang Sobotka visited a section of the land state border, where they examined the engineering obstruction facility and surveillance systems. They were acquainted with the activities of the Border Police, as well as with the control and measures to prevent attempts at illegal entry into Bulgaria, in accordance with the requirements and standards applied in the countries of the Schengen area.

The Presidents of the Parliaments of Bulgaria and Austria then visited the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint and monitored the processing of documents and the border control of the vehicles crossing the border. The Presidents of the legislative institutions of Bulgaria and Austria were also informed about the activities of the joint contact centre for police and customs cooperation between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.

Later today, at an official ceremony in Sofia, Austrian Parliament President Wolfgang Sobotka will lay a wreath in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier in Sofia. After that, a meeting will be held between the President of the National Assembly Rosen Zhelyazkov and representatives of the various parliamentary groups in the 49th National Assembly with the President of the National Council of the Republic of Austria.

The program of Wolfgang Sobotka's official visit to Bulgaria includes meetings with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel.