The Bulgarian government will build a wire fence along the entire land border between Bulgaria and Turkey, caretaker Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki told Radio Bulgaria. "The construction of this facility is one of the additional measures aimed at reducing the huge refugee influx from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to Europe. Last year over 11,000 illegal immigrants tried to illegally cross the Bulgarian borders. 99% attempted to cross the border with Turkey.” Experts say migration pressure would increase and this poses a threat to national security, according to a special report presented at the National Meeting of the Ministry of Interior. The problem is that Bulgaria is the poorest country in the EU, but it is also the first country on the way of many refugees towards Western Europe. If they receive humanitarian or refugee status, they should stay in Bulgaria according to EU laws, despite the fact they would like to go west.

Bulgaria will not be building a defensive facility but a fence preventing illegal crossing of the border, Interior Minister Yordan Bakalov said. This is very important in order to save money for the Interior Ministry. Currently, about 11,500 Bulgarian police officer provide the security of the border, while the future fence is expected to reduce their number.More from Minister Bakalov:

"I started the last two briefings with this. In my opinion the fence will solve the problem and I will be able to move officers, who now protect the border, to the inner regions of the country. We are to have different organization in small towns, in Sofia, and resorts. I have given the task to the Chief Secretary. The facility with integrated video monitoring along the border will stop a number of people who are now trying to cross the border illegally.”

According to Secretary General Svetozar Lazarov a negative reaction of the EC over the fence was not an issue.

"This facility will not have a military purpose but will help prevent illegal border crossing. There are enough border checkpoints and people who want to come as refugees can do it in a legitimate way. Currently the work of our officials at the border costs a million euro a month. Building 30 kilometers of fence cost roughly 20 million. Official data show that there are more than one million immigrants in Turkey, who are potential illegal immigrants. We are currently depriving Bulgarian citizens of security, police presence, and more effective anti-smuggling measures. Can you imagine what would happen if we move 1,200 people from the border to the roads of Bulgaria? No unchecked vehicle would remain. There will be less smuggling, less VAT fraud schemes. This will cost less and furthermore, we will not need as many employees in the Refugee Agency and the Border Police. If we want to invest in the future of our children, the future of the state, concrete measures must be taken. The other solution is taking the police away from the border and letting those illegal immigrants in. What would then happen? We need to choose what we want."

English: A. Markov