So far this year, Bulgaria has received about 3,000 asylum applications, mainly from the Middle East and Africa. This is three times the yearly average of the past decade. August saw a sharp rise to some 50 new arrivals (mainly Syrian families) per day.
At Friday's meeting, UNHCR offered to increase technical assistance to Bulgaria in the form of training and support at every stage of the asylum process from registration to decision-making on refugee claims.
Bulgaria has received about 2,000 Syrians since the start of Syria's conflict two and half years ago. Across the EU, some 47,000 Syrians sought asylum in the same period.
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