Thanks to the Minister of the Interior of Germany Nancy Feser for her support for the entry of Bulgaria in Schengen. We are on the right path and direction. A visit of a German federal minister to our country has not happened since 2008. This is what the acting interior minister Kalin Stoyanov told journalists after their joint visit to the "Captain Andreevo" border crossing.
„For us, this is an indicator that shows us that we are in the right direction. I want to assure everyone that the situation on the Bulgarian-Turkish border continues to be extremely calm. Since the beginning of the year, 7,000 foreigners have tried to cross the border illegally, and for the same period last year, their number was 27,000. We have shown the illegal migrants that they should not go here at all because they will not be able to cross the border”, the interior minister added.
„For the federal government, it was crucial that Bulgaria fulfill criteria set by the EC for the Schengen area. In our opinion, these criteria were already met last year, that is why we as a government firmly stand behind the country's full membership in Schengen, said Nancy Fraser.
Journalists from Germany asked the interior minister about the cases of violence and violation of human rights of migrants shown in their investigations from the Bulgarian border.
I can assure you that from the moment we took over the Ministry of Internal Affairs in July last year, such cases are units. All cases are investigated under the supervision of special cases and not a single case will remain unsolved, because we want to respect the rights of citizens, assured Kalin Stoyanov.
The interior minister defined the scandal with the former chief secretary Zhivko Kotsev as serious reputational damage to the Ministry of the Interior.
„Our task now is to meet the expectations of Bulgarian citizens and our European partners as quickly as possible. I want to congratulate DANS, the prosecutor's office and the anti-corruption commission, which have been severely criticized in recent months. With this operation of theirs, they showed that they can act in sync and reach the highest levels of power”, Kalin Stoyanov added.