The government has today allocated a record BGN 1 million, to support Africa. This is 10 times more than the funds Bulgaria has provided so far.

It's about the so-called Trust Fund that the EU has set up to tackle the root causes of migration from the continent. The money is poured into the fund on a voluntary basis, so far Bulgaria has donated a modest 50,000 euros, as did Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia.

The decision to allocate this sum to the fund is motivated by the forthcoming EU rotating presidency, as well as by the fact that in July the EU President Estonia "raised the bar" by allocating 1 million euros to the fund, thereby increasing its contribution of 450,000 euros to EUR 1.45 million.

"The country gives us a new clear signal of its commitment to the southern borders of the EU, the new voluntary contribution will have a positive effect on the fulfillment of the Bulgarian presidency's tasks and on the realization of a sustainable solution to the problem of migration", according to the Council of Ministers.

The Cabinet also decided to double the money allocated to the EU 2017 communication strategy, for various presentation and information materials, from BGN 5,000 to BGN 11,000.