The Directive of the European Union /EU/ on the minimum standards for temporary protection of Ukrainian refugees can be activated in about 10 days. According to her, the member states of the union must guarantee people access to accommodation, food, work, etc. for a period of 1 year. This period may be extended once more and they may enjoy all the same rights as other citizens without voting. EU funds will cover the costs, Maya Dobreva, Director general of the Political Affairs Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), told the parliamentary Committee on Policies for Bulgarians Abroad.
The EU Council Directive of 2001 for large numbers of people fleeing war or natural disasters has not been activated so far. According to parliamentary committee chairwoman Antoaneta Tsoneva, citing UN figures, more than half a million people have left Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, more than half of them in Poland. Most people go to Ukraine’s neighboring countries because of separated families and hope to return home soon.
„We are not under a lot of pressure, but that does not mean that we should not make every effort for every person fleeing the war, and I hope that coordination between the institutions will improve.“, Tsoneva said.
She had invited Minister of Justice Nadezhda Yordanova to provide the MPs with data on Bulgarians from Ukraine applying for Bulgarian citizenship and on improving legal aid for citizens of the country, victims of aggression.
„Currently, there are 7302 proceedings initiated in the Ministry of Justice for the acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship by Ukrainian citizens, the procedure for which has not been completed,“ Yordanova said. According to her, the total number of applications for acquisition of Bulgarian citizenship on the basis of Bulgarian origin is 6434. As of the beginning of the year, they are 598. This is a high rate, because most applications in recent years were in 2021, when in the 12 months they were 2901.
The Minister of Justice announced that he would ask the government to oblige the other two departments responsible for citizenship – the Ministry of Interior and the State Agency for National Security, to provide their representatives at all meetings of the Citizenship Council and to give their opinions on individual cases more quickly. As well as to increase the administrative capacity of the units dealing with citizenship applications, which are nearly 10,000 per year.
Since the beginning of the hostilities in Bulgaria, more than 1,000 people have come with buses organized by our country and with their own transport, announced Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov. Assistance from allied countries such as Turkey is also used to transport 40 people from Kyiv and 40 from Kherson. Water transportation is also being prepared.
Our diplomatic staff has been withdrawn, but our consular officers from Warsaw, Budapest, Bucharest and Moldova are working at the border crossings with Ukraine to assist those wishing to come to Bulgaria. Our Foreign Ministry will strengthen them with additional staff, because they are already exhausted. There are private organized lines that travel from Odessa to the border several times a day, Kondov said.
Tsoneva is adamant that the Law on Volunteering should be adopted in Bulgaria. According to her, energy for civil aid has been unleashed, but people should know that they have protection when they volunteer.
