As regards Bulgaria, the fundamental rights officer of the EU border protection authority, Frontex, has taken action this year (as of 1 December) on a total of seven internally reported cases of possible violations of fundamental rights, he said the authority in response to an ORF. by request. All cases concern allegations of backlash from Bulgaria to Turkey, a Frontex spokeswoman said. Four cases are still being investigated. When questioned, the authority did not provide further details.
The investigation is based on Serious Incident Reports (SIR) prepared by Frontex employees. The reports are used by the authority to identify misconduct and are divided into several categories. In case of possible violations of fundamental rights, the office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights is notified, which consequently initiates an investigation.
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Smuggling crime and risk of resistance
The accusations of resistance do not stop
Several international media outlets, including ORF in July, have already reported violence by smugglers, but also police and repulsions from Bulgaria to Turkey. The allegations have been documented by Bulgarian NGOs such as Mission Wings and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), among others.
The NGO Doctors Without Borders also received reports of repulsions and violence on the border between Turkey and Bulgaria. Given this, MSF decided to start a project in Bulgaria, MSF’s Marcus Bachmann told ORF.at.
Ghada Saafan/MSF MSF has been providing medical and psychological support to refugees in Harmanli since the summer
Since the summer, the NGO has been operating in Harmanli, close to the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, where there is a reception and registration center. Bachmann visited the center in mid-November. The NGO supports refugees both medically and psychologically.
Border police rejected accusations
“Many refugees reported to me that they were detained on Bulgarian territory or even when trying to leave Bulgaria for the Western Balkans and were then returned (to Turkey, note) and therefore subject to pushback,” Bachmann told ORF.at. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry did not respond to a call for resistance.
According to BHC estimates, 88,000 people were affected by pushbacks in 2022 alone. Rejecting asylum seekers at external borders is illegal in almost all cases under international law. The Bulgarian border police had previously rejected the accusations.
Sasa Sretenovic/MSF Marcus Bachmann, Doctors Without Borders
Reports of deaths along the border
MSF is also concerned about the imminent onset of winter. It was only on Monday that Bulgarian authorities reported the death of a refugee in the capital, Sofia. Death from cold is considered likely, it was said. The man was part of a group of ten refugees who were discovered outdoors on the outskirts of the city, according to a state television report. Two men were taken to hospital.
However, it is not uncommon for such incidents to remain hidden, according to NGOs. MSF also referred to ORF.at for September reports on deaths along the border between Turkey and Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior has not yet responded to a query from ORF.at.
“In the last two years alone, at least 93 people have died on the way through Bulgaria,” ARD reported in cooperation with Lighthouse Reports, Spiegel, RFE/RL, Solomon and inews on Friday. There are now many unmarked graves with dead migrants in Bulgarian cemeteries.
Precarious situation at the Harmanli reception center
“Bulgaria is a dangerous blind spot, especially when it comes to security and, of course, well-being – that is, people’s right to physical and psychological integrity,” the MSF representative continued. He was “shocked” by the failure to comply with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Conditions in the country’s largest registration and reception center in Harmanli, which are hardly known outside Bulgaria’s borders, also appear to be emblematic of this. At the time of Bachmann’s visit, nearly all of the center’s 1,500 spaces were occupied. Between 100 and 250 people have to share a bathroom and 40% of people suffer from scabies, he says. There are cockroaches and bedbugs. Furthermore, many windows would be missing. The NGO therefore takes care of winter kits.
A rise in returns from other EU countries – including Austria – is leading to a growing shortage of basic equipment in the camp. “The general conditions are really worrying from a medical and, of course, psychological point of view,” Bachmann said. “Under these conditions, people cannot remain healthy physically, physically or mentally,” said the MSF official. Authorities have recently made efforts to improve equipment and care.
IMAGO/Guido Koppes Father and son at the Harmanli reception center in 2021: There is criticism of the current conditions in the camp
Austria sees Bulgaria as an important “gateway state”
It is unclear what role migration through Bulgaria actually plays for Austria – which has seen a decline in asylum applications in recent months. According to migration researcher Judith Kohlenberger, this is difficult to assess. There is no way to verify information from different countries and authorities, she said.
An Interior Ministry spokesperson told ORF.at: “In the case of Bulgaria, we see that it is becoming increasingly important as a gateway state to the Balkan region.” Bulgarian Finance Minister Assen Wassilew, however, emphasized in an interview with “Welt” that less than three percent of migrants enter the EU through Bulgaria.
In a statement, the Bulgarian border police described this year’s migration activity as “dynamic”. The greatest pressure is felt particularly on the border with Türkiye. Specifically, the border police announced that they detained 16,336 refugees from January to the end of October. In total, authorities prevented 170,000 irregular border crossings between Bulgaria and Turkey. Many people move from Bulgaria to Serbia. The Balkan route is the busiest route after the Central Mediterranean, Frontex data suggests.
Expert: “It’s not the right instrument”
When it comes to “combating” irregular migration, “Schengen is not the right instrument,” said Kohlenberger. Border controls in the Schengen area have not yet worked. She also highlighted that a common Schengen area would “free up resources to be able to monitor this external border more closely, because it is no longer necessary to focus on individual internal borders”. Furthermore, there are economic effects that speak in favor of Romania and Bulgaria joining Schengen, she said.
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Nikolaj Denkow, saw all the conditions for membership met, as he highlighted in last week’s ZIB2. Among other things, he highlighted that border controls have been strengthened. The efforts were also recognized by the EU Commission, which spoke in favor of the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. In a report, the Commission also praised progress made in pilot projects for rapid asylum and return procedures.
Vienna does not expect “any decision”
Vienna is not expected to give in: there can be “no decision” at the interior ministers’ meeting in Brussels, the Austrian Interior Ministry spokesman said, referring to a Dutch parliamentary resolution. Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (both ÖVP) have vehemently rejected the expansion so far.
“I don’t think it makes sense to expand something that doesn’t work,” Karner said in late November. The ministry is not aware of any allegations of backlashes from Bulgaria to Turkey. Resistance is illegal and allegations must be investigated, he emphasized.
“I am always shocked that such conditions that violate human dignity and put people’s physical and psychological integrity at risk occur on European soil,” said MSF’s Bachmann. Bulgaria, being the economically weakest country in the EU, should be supported by other EU states in caring for refugees. He called on the Austrian federal government to remember that “not only the protection of borders is crucial”, but “also the protection of people”.