Joint Civil Society Statement on Article 5 of the EU Screening Regulation We, the undersigned civil society organisations, express our concerns regarding the potential retention of Article 5 in the proposed EU Screening Regulation (one of key legislative files encompassing the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum) during trilogue negotiations. This provision would extend the…

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…

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…

Commentary from Desislava Todorova – Lawyer and Board member of Center for Legal Aid – Voice in Bulgaria The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan and the subsequent abrupt takeover by the Taliban in the summer of 2021 triggered an increase of asylum applications (Актуална информация | ДЪРЖАВНА АГЕНЦИЯ ЗА БЕЖАНЦИТЕ (government.bg)) of Afghani nationals…

By Radostina Pavlova, radostinapav@gmail.com The date 18 March 2017 marked the one-year anniversary of the EU-Turkey Statement,[1] commonly known as the “EU-Turkey deal”. The deal was meant to stem migration flows from Turkey towards Europe’s shores, offering Turkey in exchange visa liberalization in the foreseeable future and a financial injection in the amount of 3…

In its views adopted in the case of R.A.A. and Z. M. v. Denmark[1] on 15 December 2016, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee (HRC)[2] found that the deportation of two Syrian refugees from Denmark to Bulgaria would amount to a violation of Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights…