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Faced with a massive influx of refugees fleeing the war in Syria, on September 16 the Bulgarian government appealed for "European solidarity," and called on other EU member states to take charge of some of the asylum seekers, reports Troud.
"As it stands, asylum applications from 4,010 people, including 1,465 Syrians, are being processed, and close to 1,000 others, of which 250 are from Syrians," are in preparation declared Interior Minister Tsvetlin Iovchev. The minister added that with the large numbers entering the country, Bulgaria would "soon exceed the limit of 5,000 refugees" beyond which it will be unable to cope, and announced his intention to write to the European Commission to solicit aid from the EU.
On September 16, police arrested 57 people, including 30 Syrians, who had illegally crossed the Bulgarian-Turkish border, reports Troud, which points out that Bulgaria’s three refugee centres are currently operating at 150 per cent of their capacity. The national branch of the Red Cross has launched a campaign to collect funds for a probable humanitarian emergency.
At the same time, 24 Chassa reports, that "a delegation from the European parliament is to visit Bulgaria from 18 to 20 September to inspect installations guarding the EU’s external border with Turkey."
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