We are ready to meet the challenge of protecting the borders in a new way after the admission of our country to Schengen. This was said by Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, Director of the Main Directorate “Border Police“ at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the awarding of the Directorate's employees who distinguished themselves during the year.
Today marks 137 years since the issuance of the decree establishing the Border Guard – one of the largest and most powerful structures of the Ministry of Interior, which has a mission to guard the borders of Bulgaria, and the borders of the EU, said Zlatanov.
We are sending off a very difficult, but one of the most successful years in the history of our structure, as it is a well-known fact that many people have worked for the admission of our country to Schengen. We have contributed a lot to the success of the negotiations and we managed to open the door for these negotiations, so that today this long-standing discrimination - to be outside the Schengen area - is eliminated, Zlatanov noted.
Now we face new challenges - to protect the borders in a new way, so as to ensure the security and safety of our and the entire European society. We are ready to meet this challenge, especially with the satisfaction with which we are sending off this year. We are glad that a number of European security structures and our neighbors have recognized the high results achieved, which we will have to build on next year, added Zlatanov.
Over 200 employees of the "Border Police" Directorate will be awarded with various awards.
At a solemn ceremony before the awards, wreaths were laid in front of the Monument to the Fallen Police Officers. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Internal Affairs Atanas Ilkov and commissioners and chief commissioners of the "Border Police".