Since 2022, Switzerland already supports Bulgaria in the cohesion area with CHF 92.5 mil. through the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programme. With the additional framework agreement of CHF 21.35 mil., Bulgaria’s migration management will be strengthened with respect to asylum procedures and structures, as well as reception facilities for vulnerable migrants such as unaccompanied refugee and migrant children. To achieve this, it will closely work with international organisations to implement efficient and high-quality asylum procedures in line with Bulgarian and international standards.
This is not the beginning of our relationship, as the Swiss Ambassador to Bulgaria Pierre Hagmann highlighted during the signing ceremony. Switzerland has been supporting Bulgaria since the mid-1990 through successive cooperation programmes, first as part of our transition support and, after Bulgaria’s EU accession, through the Swiss Contribution. With this new agreement, special focus will be put on protection support to asylum seekers in Bulgaria by strengthening the capacity of reception facilities, cultural mediation, national child protection system, and the digitalisation of procedures.
During his one-day visit in Sofia, Director Krauskopf met with Bulgarian implementation partners at the Council of Ministers, including the State Agency for Refugees, UNICEF, IOM, and the Bulgarian Red Cross. On this occasion, he underlined the importance of their work and highlighted that in Switzerland Bulgaria has a reliable partner. The Swiss delegation also visited the State Agency for Refugees Reception Centre in Ovcha Kupel in Sofia to gain first-hand experience of the living and working conditions.
Bulgaria is one of the countries which are particularly affected by migration flows. As a full member of Schengen Area and a country at its external border, Bulgaria has an important role to play in terms of border and migration management. Being aware of the challenges that this geographical position entails, apart from the financial aid offered through the migration credit, Switzerland offers also expert and technical support.
Whereas the responsibility of the second Swiss Contribution in the migration area lies with the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), in Bulgaria its implementation belongs to the Ministry of Interior as Programme Operator. The migration framework credit is primarily meant to finance programmes and projects in the areas of asylum procedures, infrastructure, voluntary return and integration with the view of preventing secondary migration.
In Switzerland, SEM is responsible for all matters covered by legislation on foreign nationals and asylum seekers in Switzerland. This covers entry and residence, employment, integration, naturalisation, protection from persecution, returning abroad.
