Bulgaria – part of the new European Border & Coast Guard Agency

In June the EU Commission officially confirmed that Bulgaria will be part of the brand new European Border & Coast Guard Agency. The invitation came in a response to a letter by the Bulgarian MEP with Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, asking the EU Commission to inform Bulgarians whether the new European Border and Coast Guard will concern all EU member states or just the states that are within the Schengen area.

From the written response of the EU Commission it became clear that the regulations which concern the European Border and Coast Guard will also be applied to the external borders according to Tittle II of the Schengen Borders Code. This means that Bulgaria will officially be part of the European Border and Coast Guard. The Bulgarian MP further requested guarantees that the same agency will interfere in case secure protection of the external borders of Bulgaria is needed, and especially the coastal border with the Black Sea and the one with Turkey. The answer of the European Commission stated that Bulgaria, as a member state of the EU is currently hosting the Flexible Operational Activities, the Frontex Joint Land and the other activities of the agency and will also benefit from other Frontex activities such as training and risk analysis.