Lesovo, Bulgaria - October 08, 2024

After the authorities in Bulgaria determined that there was a risk of increased migration pressure to Europe, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Defense and the Chief of the Border Police inspected the Bulgarian-Turkish border. They inspected the fence from the air, and then went around the border near Lesovo. They flew a helicopter over the facility to check if there were any compromised areas and if there was a need for video surveillance.

Since the beginning of the year, border police officers have prevented more than 44,000 attempts by migrants to enter Bulgaria illegally, border police chief Zlatanov said. And he added that over 99% of the total migratory pressure to Europe is on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Zlatanov reported that migration pressure has decreased by 71% compared to the same period in 2023.

All integrated surveillance systems in "Border Police" are currently supported with European funds. New ones are due to be built at the beginning of 2025.

Shotlist:
1. Various of border inspection by the Bulgarian PM;
2. Dimitar Glavchev – Bulgarian PM (caretaker), saying (Bulgarian):
"It's obvious the need to strengthen our national security measures along our borders because of the anticipated risks.";
3. Anton Zlatanov – Chief of Bulgarian border police, saying (Bulgarian):
"We have so far seen a 70% reduction in migratory pressure since the beginning of the year. However, the more difficult task lies ahead – to continue to maintain these good results.";
4. Atanas Zaprianov – Bulgarian minister of defense, saying (Bulgarian):
"If the need arises and we have increased pressure, we are ready to increase the number of participating military personnel. This limit is common to the EU and I believe that the Bulgarian army is doing what is necessary.";
5. Various of border inspection by the Bulgarian PM;
6. Dimitar Glavchev – Bulgarian PM (caretaker), saying (Bulgarian):
"There are rare places where broken parts of the border fence have been found, but usually they are no bigger than one meter. And they are repaired within a day when they are noticed by the border police.";
7. Various of border inspection by the Bulgarian PM.