Ivan Demerdzhiev, Bulgarian interior minister, stated in a briefing during the council of ministers that the initiative for providing shelter to Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria will continue as they will once more be relocated to state resorts.
Demerdzhiev said, “We have anticipated the appropriate locations and window of opportunity for this. People living in hotels will have until the middle of the month to migrate to approved resorts within a 15-day window. Only Bulgaria and other nations, Cyprus and Ireland, offer this type of limitless protection. On the other hand, we want to ensure that these residents will be accommodated in suitable locations throughout the next winter and will not be required to move due to harsh climatic conditions”.
The minister explained that compared to other EU members, the financial resources supplied by Bulgaria are considerable, according to the minister of tourism. So far, roughly BGN 523 million has been paid, of which BGN 200 million came from the budget and BGN 300 million came from European programmes and grants.
The minister pledged that all funds promised to the hoteliers will be paid and that by the end of this week, the state would register all uncontested payments made up to the end of September. Hoteliers will have 15 days to file complaints, and each one will be taken into account.
Numerous Ukrainian nationals fled to other European nations due to the continuous war between Russia and Ukraine. Keeping it in mind, the European Commission announced an additional 100 million euros for Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
According to the European Commission, funds will be distributed based on results rather than actual expenses. It continues by saying that an additional 52 million euros will be made available for the migrants’ living arrangements and medical and mental health care. It should be remembered that 248 million euros have previously been given to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic for the same objectives.