site.btaLabour Ministry to Work on Development of National Programme for Settlement of Third-country Nationals of Bulgarian Origin

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will join the development of a national programme for the settlement in Bulgaria of third-country nationals of Bulgarian origin., said Labour Minister Georgi Gyokov during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Social, Labour and Demographic Policy here on Wednesday, responding to a question by GERB-UDF MP Denitsa Sacheva.

This programme should have been developed some thirty years ago, "but better late than never," Gyokov said.

According to the Labour Minister, all citizens coming from Ukraine, both those of Bulgarian origin and the others, are getting a warm reception by the Bulgarians.

A regional analysis on the labour market will be conducted to find out regional needs, Gyokov said, explaining that the Employment Agency has such analyses which must be made official. He noted that the Bulgarian labour market is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers.

Movement for Rights and Freedoms MP Hassan Ademov said that around 300,000 refugees from Ukraine are expected in Bulgaria, which is why it is very important that the State starts acting on the plans it already has. He asked whether support can be provided to the refugees under the Food and/or Basic Material Assistance Operational Programme, to which Gyokov responded affirmatively, explaining that refugees can be beneficiaries under the programme, for which there are available funds until June 30. 

The Labour and Social Policy Ministry has provided its available recreational facilities for the accommodation of refugees, which consists of 17 hotels with 2,500 beds.

Gyokov told a question in Parliament that his Ministry and the State Agency for Refugees will inspect the living conditions at accommodation facilities. He also said that refugee accommodation facilities have been assisted for years under the National Employment action Plan through subsidized employment for certain groups of people and Bulgarian language classes.

The Minister welcomed the idea to exempt from taxes food donations.

Some 5,900 Ukrainian citizens have entered Bulgaria on Tuesday, while 2,800 have left the country, border police data showed on Wednesday. Nearly 26,000 Ukrainians have fled to and stayed in Bulgaria since Russian invaded their country.