Austria's Federal Chancellor to Visit Bulgaria

The Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Karl Nehammer, will pay a working visit to Bulgaria on Monday, 23 January, at the invitation of the Bulgarian side. Securing Bulgaria's border and countering migration pressure, as well as the implementation of European law on Schengen, will be the focus of the visit, which was initiated by head of State Rumen Radev. The delegation, led by Karl Nehammer, includes Gerhard Karner, Austria's Federal Minister of the Interior.

On 23 January, the Bulgarian President will welcome the Austrian Chancellor at Plovdiv Airport, after which the two will inspect the measures taken to secure the EU's external border with Turkey.

Radev and Nehammer will visit the Regional Border Police Directorate in Elhovo, where the Regional Coordination Centre, part of the Integrated Surveillance System for the Bulgarian-Turkish border, is located.

Rumen Radev and Karl Nehammer will hold a working meeting and address the media. The Bulgarian delegation for the visit to the Bulgarian-Turkish border includes Ivan Demerdzhiev, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of Interior, Dimitar Stoyanov, caretaker Minister of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, Chief of Defence.

Within the visit of the Austrian Chancellor, a meeting with Prime Minister Galab Donev is also foreseen.