The latest bloody terrorist attacks in Brussels have caused the large-scale tightening of security measures. Bulgaria also increased the presence of its security forces at strategic sites and public spots, although the National Security Headquarters assessed the lack of a concrete terrorist threat for this country. A review and renewal of the defense plans was also triggered.

An army and police training took place in Sofia’s subway over the night after the Brussels assaultswith foreign participation as well. However, this exercise had been planned months ago.The Sofia Mayoralty assured that measures for increasing the level of security had been taken a couple of weeks before that and abandoned packages’ defusing had been trained during the last two days before the attacks. This continued policy for prevention of national security threats also includes a tightened control over the access of foreigners to the national territory.

Official representatives of the authorities admitted these days that special spots had been determined for the building up of refugee camps and distribution centers due to fears of redirection of the refugee wave to Bulgaria. There has been strengthened presence of border police, gendarmerie and army squads along the border with Greece and Turkey over the recent months. Nearly 200 border police officers have backed up the southern borders’ guards, as nearly 2/3 of them are dislocated at the EU external border with Turkey. In case of a large-scale migrant wave Bulgaria will request the EU support, as well as NATO’s inclusion into the guarding actions along all SEE land borders.

Draft bill, aiming to amend the Foreigners Act in Bulgaria had been submitted before the assaults as well, with drastic restrictions envisaged for the access to our territory of non-EU citizens. The creation of hot spots for migrants with the purpose of their readmission is also regulated by the changes. A short-term accommodation measure will be also introduced with a following identification and assessment of those, really looking for asylum. Nearly 18,000 illegal migrants have been checked since the start of 2015 and some 600 of those have been denied their sojourn status due to potential national security threat. 56 foreigners have been extradited for the same reasons, or have been deprived from the right to stay or enter this country. However, the tightened control concerns not only migrants, but also family members of foreign diplomats. Restrictions are also being prepared for foreigners who have married Bulgarians outside Bulgaria and would like to visit the country or settle in here. More serious requirements are expected to be introduced, regarding the receiving of a status for a long stay here by persons of business or representatives of foreign companies.

All these measures are drastic, but are claimed to fit into the mainstream of Europe’s will to leave behind the current liberal model for the receiving of migrants which has resulted into this large-scale abuse of terms like refugee, asylum etc. In any case the efforts of the state to put in order the current chaos within the migration processes that still concern it, despite being a transit territory only might face the support of the society. However, it must show first the will to put in order its own institutions – a recent video showed border police officers helping illegal migrants to cross the border with Turkey. The ministry has already admitted that a group of 60 illegal migrants was nabbed on that day and the inspection on the case is now a subject of increased public interest.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev