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A joint contingent of border security officers from Bulgaria, Austria, Romania, and Hungary will officially begin operations today, tasked with guarding the Bulgarian-Turkish border. The contingent, which was established as part of an agreement made in mid-November, was a key condition for Austria lifting its veto on Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area.
The ceremony marking the start of the mission will take place in Svilengrad, where Bulgaria’s Minister of Interior, Daniel Mitov, will welcome representatives from the three other countries. Among the attendees will be Romania’s Minister of Interior, Catalin Predoiu, Hungary’s Minister of Interior, Sándor Pinter, and Austria’s Director General of Public Security, Franz Ruf. The delegation’s agenda includes a visit to the green border area near the Kapitan Andreevo checkpoint, where a joint document will be signed outlining the operational responsibilities of the contingent. This document will be signed in the presence of the ministers and other relevant officials.
The contingent is made up of 100 additional border police officers—25 from Bulgaria, 40 from Romania, 20 from Hungary, and 15 from Austria. This collaborative approach underscores the shared responsibility among the four EU countries to secure the external borders of the union.
At the end of November 2024, Bulgaria's acting Minister of Interior, Atanas Ilkov, reiterated that the goal of the joint effort was to ensure that the protection of the EU’s external borders remains a collective duty. He also pointed out that the initiative was part of ongoing efforts to prevent migrant pressure at the Bulgarian-Greek border.
Earlier in the year, Bulgaria's Border Police Chief, Anton Zlatanov, emphasized the country’s commitment to maintaining security. He highlighted significant reductions in migrant entry attempts, with a 70% drop in such incidents and 46% fewer people successfully entering the country. Zlatanov affirmed that the primary objective for the year was to sustain these results, rather than further improve upon them.
This initiative marks a significant step in Bulgaria’s security efforts and its collaboration with neighboring EU countries to strengthen border control in the region.
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