European assistance to help Bulgaria face the refugee crisis - Main contents
23/10/2013 - A number of items such as folding beds, mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets, cutlery and jerry cans have reached Bulgaria following its recent request for assistance to the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) of the European Commission due to an unprecedented increase in the number of Syrian refugees fleeing to the country.
On 16 October Bulgarian authorities requested help through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Slovenia responded to meet the majority of the most urgent needs of Syrian refugees in Bulgaria.
The ERCC coordinated the offers of assistance and provided real time exchange of information between the Member States. Slovakia’s and Hungary's aid has reached Bulgaria already, while the assistance from Slovenia and Austria is expected to arrive in the following days.
Currently there are over 6 400 refugees registered in Bulgaria, which is six times more than in the same period last year. According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, this is the biggest crisis in the country in the past 90 years.
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