Details are emerging of EU-funded pilot projects in Bulgaria and Romania to fast-track asylum and fund border technologies. “The results are excellent,” Ylva Johansson, EU’s commissioner for home affairs, told reporters on Thursday (19 October). She said people not entitled to asylum are being prevented from entering, while others are sent home in what she…
Today, six months since the start of implementation of the pilots projects for fast asylum and return procedures, the Commission is reporting on the good progress made by Bulgaria and Romania. Overall, solid results have been achieved with best practices identified in the area of accelerated asylum procedures and effective returns, border management and reinforced cooperation with neighbouring…
The Bulgarian-Turkish border is seeing an upsurge in pushbacks and violence against migrants. InfoMigrants uncovers the reasons why and who are the most at risk. *This article is the first in a four-part series. All research and interviews were conducted between June and August 2023, with field reporting in Bulgaria carried out between June 18…
Statement of “Voice in Bulgaria” on the “Regulation of the European Commission and of the Council laying down harmonised rules on Artificial Intelligence – Artificial Intelligence Act” and its application in Migration Part I – Overview of EU regulation on Artificial Intelligence 1. Introduction On 14 June 2023, the European Parliament will vote…
KAPIKULE, TURKEY, May 24th, 9:00 GMT]- Over 100 members of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, a persecuted religious minority, who have presented themselves at the Turkish-Bulgarian border claiming asylum this morning have just been refused entry, violently beaten, pushed back and taken to Edirne public safety office. Gunshots were fired at them, they…
We, the undersigned, are writing to urge you to fulfil the fundamental rights obligations Bulgaria are bound by under the Law on Asylum and Refugees, Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Directive 2013/32/EU, the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human…
Campaign in support of a legislative initiative to regulate the status of undocumented people in Bulgaria. Who are these people and why are they in this situation? Check out the stories told by them in the link to the video channel of CCI – Voice in Bulgaria on YouTube. Support the campaign by signing the…
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has called on European governments to protect foreign nationals deprived of their liberty under immigration legislation from any ill-treatment and to put an end to pushbacks at land or sea borders, particularly at the borders of the European Union. In its annual report for 2022, the CPT…
Pushbacks and criminalisation of CSOs in Greece – Executive Summary While pushbacks are not a recent phenomenon, the number of cases of reported pushbacks at the land and sea borders of Greece with Turkey has increased since March 2020. At the same time, NGOs and human rights defenders who provide legal aid to victims of…
Bulgaria faces mounting accusations that it is abusing people trying to cross its border with Turkey, with asylum seekers saying they have been pushed back, locked up, stripped and beaten. The EU member serves as a gateway into the bloc and is trying to tighten the border to stop a rising number of people seeking…