Refugees in Bulgaria Demand Documents Allowing Entry in EU Countries

Refugees in Bulgaria are staging a protest to demand papers allowing them to head for Germany or another EU member state.

The protest is to be held Wednesday in front of the European Commission Representation in Sofia, according to reports of Trud daily.

While the main problem outlined so far involved the slow asylum procedure, asylum seekers have complained that the Bulgarian international travel documents do not allow them to reach EU countries.

On Friday, a group of refugees submitted a protest declaration with the President's Office, the European Commission Representation in Sofia and the Council of Ministers and they are waiting for a reply to the motion.

Bulgaria's State Agency for Refugees authorizes exceptionally for refugees to remain in accommodation centers after they have been granted refugee status.

Around half of the 3400 people accommodated at refugee centers have been granted refugee status but they have nowhere to go, according to reports of Trud daily.

The issue of schooling for the thousands of children at refugee centers has also not been resolved yet and an integration program is due in summer at the earliest.

Meanwhile, NGO Amnesty International called on EU countries to refrain from transferring asylum seekers to Bulgaria until the country improved the poor living conditions at refugee centers and reviewed its deeply flawed asylum procedures.

Under EU regulations, asylum seekers can be returned to Bulgaria if it is the country through which they entered the EU.

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