site.btaDeputy PM Konstantinova: War in Ukraine Exposed Institutions’ Long-standing Enfeebling

In an interview for BTA, Deputy Prime Minister for Good Governance Kalina Konstantinova said: “The war in Ukraine actually exposed much more quickly and evidently something that we have been talking about for a long time: the long-standing enfeebling of institutions in Bulgaria.” In her words, for years the institutions have been blinded and put under so that they would not see what is happening in order not to interfere. 

“Now, amid the unprecedented crisis, when the institutions had to start working at a super fast pace, the opposition and their media have transferred the responsibility on us,” she went on to say. However, “in these exceptionally hard 30 days we managed to overcome mountains of pointless administrative obstacles, sabotages, legal traps, tonnes of work left unfinished over the years, in order to provide these innocent people with food and shelter,” Konstantinova argued.   

As a deputy prime minister exercising horizontal control over all institutions under the Operational Coordination Group, she said Bulgaria will make all possible efforts to welcome and support those fleeing the armed conflict. The Group’s main priority is their safe evacuation, transportation and accommodation in Bulgaria; the provision of temporary protection and the opening of the maximum possible number of sites for the issue of registration cards. The next priorities are employment of those Ukrainians wishing to work here and the successful inclusion of their children in the Bulgarian education system, Konstantinova explained. 

In her words, the influx of displaced persons is unprecedented: while during the peak of the refugee wave of Syrians and Afghans the record was 21,000 per year, now over 110,000 per month are being registered. Thus far, over 113,000 people from Ukraine have entered Bulgaria, of whom 60,000 have stayed; one-third of them on average are children. Over 70 per cent of those who remain in Bulgaria are accommodated at hotels, state and municipal bases; the remaining 30 per cent choose to stay with relatives, friends or in private housing. 

Nearly 6,000 people have been granted temporary protection. This practically means that they get access to Bulgaria’s healthcare, education system and job market, albeit under certain conditions, Konstantinova explained. In education, for example, Ukrainian pupils need to take additional Bulgarian language classes, and kindergarteners need to be vaccinated according to Bulgarian standards. On the job market, those with non-specialized professions can start work right away, while doctors and architects, for instance, will have to get their degrees certified or attend additional courses in the respective field. 

Despite the huge pressure, the difficult international situation and the unprepared institutions in Bulgaria, this country has managed to implement both theoretically and in practice the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive very quickly, Konstantinova said. “Unfortunately, few people learned that Bulgaria is among those excelling at managing the situation both in terms of approach and implementation. Now, for example, Romania is replacing the structure of our Operational Coordination Group with six interdepartmental working groups by sectors,” she noted.

The Deputy Prime Minister commented that she expects a new approach, work and specific results from the new head of the State Agency for Refugees, Mariana Tosheva, who Konstantinova described as the best expert to head the Agency with a 30-year experience in the field of refugees.