"January 1 is the date around which they have united for our entry into Schengen in the declaration signed by the interior ministers of Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. A decision on whether this will happen must still be taken by the Justice and Home Affairs Council, which is on December 12”.
This was stated to bTV by the director of the Main Directorate "Border Police" Anton Zlatanov.
He commented on how we will travel to Greece after we enter Schengen. If things happen as planned - from January 1, it will be possible to cross border crossings without inspection. At the border with Greece, all barriers, obstacles, lying down policemen will be removed. However, our building background will remain.
"We should not think that our border with Greece will remain uncontrolled and unverified. In the border zone, which is 30 km from the line itself, patrols of the "Border Police", the National Police, and the "Customs" will be stationed. Inspections will be carried out on the basis of a risk analysis," Zlatanov pointed out.
„I have repeatedly said that Bulgaria is ready to enter Schengen. She has met the criteria for many years. There have been three consecutive checks by Schengen commissions over the years – all three were positive. Last year's – the last one was with a report that the results in Bulgaria are brilliant. That was in 2023, and in 2024 – we have improved it many times”, commented Anton Zlatanov.
„Thanks to our work and to the officers who guard the border against illegal migration, we managed to keep good results and the doors of these negotiations on the part of politicians and diplomats open”, said the director of the Main Directorate "Border Police” .
In his words, they are looking at two indicators – the reduced attempts to cross the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Anton Zlatanov explained that this year they decreased by 70% compared to last year. The second indicator is how many migrants still managed to get through the fence and through the officials and systems, but we detained them ourselves inside the country or at the exits – these cases decreased by 46%.
The director of the "Border Police" pointed out that there are currently 165 Frontex employees at the Bulgarian-Turkish border, and in Friday's agreement it was stipulated that 100 more people would arrive from January 2.