A positive change in the attitude of Bulgarian citizens towards refugees is reported by a sociological survey by the BluePo!nt agency, conducted in the period 10-22 August 2022 among 800 men and women aged between 18 and 70. It was carried out in implementation of a joint project of The Bulgarian Red Cross in partnership with the State Agency for Child Protection “Let’s get to know the other”, with the financial support of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, co-financed by the European Union, targeting citizens of third countries legally residing in Bulgaria or individuals , seeking and receiving international protection.

Nearly 71% expect that refugees should be integrated in our country, while in 2017 about 20% of people were of this opinion. According to 86.6 percent of respondents, this can be done mostly by finding a job and learning the local language. The positives that the Bulgarian population sees from the reception of refugees in our country are related to the availability of labor (38.8%) and qualified employees (8.5%), development of a sense of empathy and tolerance (28.2%), reduction of the demographic crisis (4.8 %), aid from the EU (2.1%), etc.

“In 2017, the environment for working with refugees coming to Bulgaria was extremely difficult. Now, despite the Ukrainian crisis, there are better conditions for these people to integrate and realize their potential in our country. Today, empathy and charity towards refugees are leading in the value system of Bulgarians.” This was stated by the Deputy Director General of the Bulgarian Red Cross, Dr. Nadezhda Todorovska, when presenting the results of the project and the sociological survey.

Over 62% of the respondents have a completely or rather positive attitude towards the refugees who arrived in Bulgaria. More than 37% of Bulgarian citizens share a rather negative or completely negative attitude towards this group.

About 31% is the share of people who believe that refugees weigh on our economy, while in 2017 about 50% of those polled were of this opinion. This applies to the greatest extent to the residents of the capital.

The survey shows that the share of people willing to host a child/refugee in their home for a certain period of time and would accept their child to attend a children’s institution where there are also refugee children is increasing. According to this indicator, people living in the capital and in cities with over 100,000 people, aged between 31 and 40, have a more positive attitude.

89.5 percent of Bulgarian citizens have never had a problem with refugees before, according to the survey data. In 2022, the feeling of sympathy for refugees increased to 49%, while in 2017 only 3% expressed sympathy for them. Dissatisfaction with the refugees was stated by 25 percent of the respondents, and open hatred – 3.6%. A feeling of fear is experienced by 13.6 percent of the people asked. The youngest Bulgarian citizens, in the 18-30 age group, demonstrate the highest degree of indifference towards refugees.

The share of people who believe that persons seeking international protection should NOT be accepted in Bulgaria is significantly decreasing – from 87.6% in 2017 to 59.9% in 2022.

The concerns of Bulgarian citizens regarding refugees are mainly related to the fact that they abuse their situation – 18.9% and their weak integration – 15.8%.

Interest in the topic related to refugees has grown significantly in 2022. The survey shows that if in 2017, every second person shared that they were not interested in this issue, now only 5.3% of respondents give such an answer .

PRESENTATION OF THE SURVEY (in Bulgarian language)

The BCRM as a project partner National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM) presents a short analysis entitled “Surprised? How underdeveloped refugee integration policies will hinder the integration of people displaced by the war in Ukraine”. The document examines the readiness of the member states participating in the project, including Bulgaria, to accept people with temporary protection from Ukraine. Authored by Alexander Wolfhard of the Migration Policy Group. The analysis examines the implications of EU Member States’ integration policy frameworks on the long-term integration prospects of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, using data from the NIEM project. The analysis notes that the newly introduced provisions under the EU Temporary Protection Directive differ from the legal framework in place for international protection seekers who are granted protection as a result of a positive asylum procedure. The author points out that the state of the countries’ overall framework for refugee integration clearly has an impact on the member states’ ability to adapt to the new circumstances of a mass movement of refugees from Ukraine.

LEARN MORE (in Bulgaria language – NIEM Bulgaria Website)

LEARN MORE (in English NIEM Website)

In the end of June, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and the United Nations High Commissioner organized a seminar – laboratory for cooperation: The civil sector in support of refugees from Ukraine. The seminar is a one-day meeting of representatives of various non-governmental organizations from the Black Sea region.

At the event, representatives of non-governmental organizations examined the possibilities for social inclusion and the prospects for integration of refugees from Ukraine, the role of non-governmental organizations and the opportunities for cooperation and partnership between civil society structures and other interested parties. At the seminar were policies at the national level, as well as funding opportunities for non-governmental organizations for the integration of refugees from Ukraine. The event was open both to organizations with experience in working with refugees, to volunteers, to organizations that can include refugees as a target group in existing projects or plan to include these groups in their future initiatives.

The event is part of the strategic efforts of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants to develop the capacity for integration of refugees at the local level, focusing on cooperation between non-governmental organizations to be a reliable and reliable partner for municipalities and state institutions in the process of refugee integration.

At the end of June, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and the Association of Bulgarian Black Sea Municipalities, in partnership with the UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria, organized a joint information session on the reception of refugees from Ukraine, the possibilities for their social inclusion and integration, and the potential for local and regional development.

The Information Meeting was attended by representatives of the regional governments of Burgas, Dobrich and Razgrad, municipal administrations, the Council of Ministers, the State Agency for Refugees, the Ministry of Education and Science and NGOs involved in the reception and integration of refugees from Ukraine. On the one hand, the aim was to present the reception and integration policies of the persons granted temporary protection, the funding opportunities at the national and local level. On the other hand, the aim was to discuss the response of municipalities with an emphasis on access to services, possible solutions to challenges, optimization of capacity and resources and opportunities for future cooperation and partnership with civil society structures.

The event is part of the efforts of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to develop the capacity to assist and integrate refugees at the municipal level and as an opportunity for local social and economic development.

On 16 June, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants and the Multi-Culti Collective, in partnership with the UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria, held a final conference on the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM) project.

On the eve of 20 June – International Refugee Day, the conference provided a forum to examine Bulgaria’s challenges and progress in refugee integration in a European context. A summary of the comparative evaluation report on integration in the 14 European countries participating in the project was presented. The event provided an opportunity to present proposals and outline next steps and measures to support refugees for inclusion and real integration in Bulgaria.

The National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM) is a major research project in Europe on the topic of refugees with a duration of 6 years, which aims to prepare key actors in the field of integration in 15 EU Member States to better address current challenges and improve integration outcomes for beneficiaries of international protection.

Over the years of implementation, NIEM project partners have worked to establish a mechanism to comprehensively assess the integration of beneficiaries of international protection, provided evidence of gaps in integration standards, identified promising practices, and assessed the impact of changes to legislation and policies.

The final conference and the NIEM project are funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. More information about the project can be found on the Bulgaria project website as well as on the European project website.

On 14 June, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, in partnership with the UNHCR and the Multi-Culti Collective, held a meeting on advocacy for refugee integration in Bulgaria. The meeting was attended by representatives of NGOs, the Council of Ministers, local authorities, and the academic community. A Manifesto for the Integration of Refugees in Bulgaria was presented for discussion and consultation at the meeting. The Refugee Integration Manifesto is the result of a six-month process of joint development by representatives of all stakeholders as well as the refugees themselves.

The document is being developed with the aim of being a key program advocacy document for creating an effective integration system and supportive environment for the reception, inclusion, and integration of refugees in Bulgaria.

The Manifesto highlights the leading role of the state and local authorities and the importance of the participation of the civil sector in the refugee integration system. The Manifesto presents a model where both refugees and local communities can benefit from a two-way integration process.

The advocacy meeting and the creation of the Manifesto are part of the strategic activities of the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants to develop the capacity to build an effective mechanism for the integration of refugees in Bulgaria as an opportunity for social and economic development at the local and national levels.

The meeting and the development of the Refugee Integration Manifesto were organized within the framework of the projects “Advocacy for Refugee Integration in Bulgaria”, funded by UNHCR, and “National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM)”, funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

On 2 June 2022, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, the UNHCR Representation in Bulgaria and the Sofia Development Association organised an Information Session on Integration of Refugees from Ukraine on the Territory of Sofia Municipality.

District and municipal administrations in the country should take the initiative and participate in the creation of working mechanisms to support the social inclusion and integration of refugees from Ukraine.  This is one of the main conclusions of the discussion meeting of the district administrations in Sofia Municipality with representatives of the Council of Ministers, the State Agency for Refugees, the Office of the Sofia Region Governor and NGOs. The meeting was attended by Ms. Krasimira Velichkova, Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister Kalina Konstantinova, Mr. Tsvetelin Sofroniev, Deputy Governor of Sofia, Ms. Venera Milova, Secretary of Sofia Municipality. They discussed the possibilities of establishing day care centers for refugee children froom Ukraine during the summer, organizing Bulgarian language courses, supporting employment, housing, etc. Medium- and long-term planning of logistics chains, resourcing of municipal and regional structures, cooperation with the civil sector are key factors for successful management of such crises in the future.

The meeting was organized in the framework of the implementation of the project “Advocacy for Refugee Integration in Bulgaria”, funded by UNHCR and the project “NIEM – National Integration Evaluation Mechanism“, funded by the AMIF.

The first issue of the Academic Bulletin “Refugees: today and tomorrow” for 2022 brings together three major
and significant topics, both for Bulgaria and globally. On the one hand, it provides an overview of what
happened in Bulgaria in 2021 regarding the international protection procedures in the country and challenges
of integration of those granted refugee or humanitarian protection statuses, the article is based on the results
of the UNHCR AGD Survey conducted in 2021. On the other hand, the outbreak of war in Ukraine on 24
February 2022 and the millions of people who have already left for different European countries provoked us
to slow down the issue, but to collect several pieces, without pretending to be exhaustive, in which to present
the first solidarity initiatives, in general the reaction of the Bulgarian society, government and civic sector
supporting the Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria. The third major aspect is what is happening to refugees globally,
when at the beginning of the twenty-first century there are 23 active conflicts in the world, what is the role
of UNHCR in different places, what is the core philosophy of the Global Compact for Refugees. About all this
and other topics you could learn in the interview with Mr. Narasimha Rao Nilagiri Lakshmi, UNHCR
Representative in Bulgaria since 2020. We also turn our attention to the now forgotten crisis in Afghanistan
and its impact on refugee administrative and judicial practice in Bulgaria with the text of the lawyer Todor
Iliev in our Legal Consultant rubric. Last but not least, we would like to highlight the importance of the topic
of new technologies in the field of migration, which you will learn about from three studies of the Center for
the Study of Democracy. In the Academic Horizons section, we have also included information on several
summer schools in the field of migration and refugees forthcoming this summer.

Download in PDF  Summary in English  Feedback Other issues

On 26 and 27 May, the Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants hosted an international partnership meeting on the Go4DiGreen project, aimed for economic integration and empowerment of refugees in the context of the development of the EU’s digital economy. During the meeting, the results of the project were planned, which include the development of an open online training platform and certification scheme, a refugee skills card for entrepreneurship, training materials and digital accessibility materials for refugees. The situation with the refugees from Ukraine and the prospects for their integration were also presented during the meeting. The meeting was attended by partner organizations Blickpunkt Identitaet (Austria), European Qualifications and Certification Association (Austria), Project Phoenix (Cyprus and Belgium), Syrian Youth Assembly (Germany) and technical partner of the project – MGL Video . The project is funded by the Erasmus + program in response to the effects of the СOVID-19 pandemic.

• Learn more about on the project official website: www.go4-green-business.eu

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bulgaria, in partnership and kindly hosted by the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC), with the assistance of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), the Council of Refugee Women in Bulgaria (CRWB) and representatives of the refugee community, opened the Center for Refugee Support “Blue Dot” (Blue Dot). It is located at the BRC headquarters in Sofia and was opened in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Kalina Konstantinova.

Blue Dot centers are safe areas of protection and basic services that are being opened in countries hosting refugees from Ukraine, including Poland, Romania and Moldova. They provide information, legal advice, psychosocial support, identification and referral to services for children, women, families, and other groups at particular increased risk while fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. Blue Dot Centers increase support from national governments and are organized in coordination with government authorities and other partners on key transit routes and destinations to help children and families in need.