The EU plans to implement two projects to protect external borders from the influx of illegal migrants. This was stated at the end of the EU summit in Brussels by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, DW reports..

In particular, the first project provides for the achievement of security on the border between Bulgaria and Turkey through vehicles, road control, surveillance cameras, as well as watchtowers.. The project is planned to be financed from EU funds, the budget of Bulgaria, as well as with the help of contributions from other countries of the bloc.

According to the head of the European Commission, a border wall has already been installed on this border, but this does not give the desired result..

There has been a long-standing debate in the EU over whether the bloc should finance the construction of walls and fences along the external borders.. Greece and Austria support this idea, while Germany, Luxembourg and the European Commission oppose.

In the final statement of the EU summit, funding for the construction of walls and fences is not mentioned, it is only indicated that the bloc's funds should be attracted, in particular, to the creation of infrastructure at the borders.

In addition, the EU plans to expedite the processing of asylum applications.

Ursula von der Leyen said that the second pilot project concerns the registration of migrants, as well as faster decisions on asylum applications and the return of rejected refugees to the external borders of EU countries for expulsion. However, the head of the European Commission did not specify where this project will be implemented..

Earlier, the European Commission announced its intention to cope with the increase in the number of illegal migrants with the help of a new deportation strategy.. European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said in January that those not in need of international protection should return to their country of origin.. According to her, more than 300,000 illegal migrants arrived in the EU last year, most of them do not have a legal right to asylum..

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Earlier it was reported that in 2022 the number of asylum applications almost halved in the EU countries.. In particular, 923,991 asylum applications were registered in 27 EU countries last year, which is 46.5 percent more than in 2021..

Also in 2022, according to preliminary estimates, about 330,000 illegal border crossings were detected at the external borders of the EU.. This is the highest figure since 2016 and 64% more than last year.