All Bulgarians living in Greece, who want to vote for a Bulgarian European parliament candidate, do not need to sign up beforehand at the embassy. At the day of the elections, the Bulgarian embassy in Athens will offer a voting booth and everyone will be able to vote after presenting an ID or passport.

In the occasion of the upcoming Euro elections, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the European Parliament Representative organized a conference called: “Euro-elections 2009: Their importance for the development of security, emigration and equality.”

The conference took place in the Old Parliament in Athens and one of the most important topics of discussion was regulating emigration and what size is the phenomenon during the financial crisis. “Indicative is the fact that, according to the existent data 3.8% of the total EU population are citizens from third countries and annually, in Europe arrive 1.5 and 2 million people. Basically, this means that in a Europe without internal borders, no country-member can deal with immigrant alone,” said the Greek Minister of Internal Affairs Prokopsis Pavlopoulos.

With the help of the Frontex program, the internal EU borders and the ones of other countries as well, can be controlled. “This way, the internal borders of the country will be stronger and supported by European means,” stressed the Minister.

Another important part of Minister Pavlopoulos’ statement is that until 2012 a common procedure will be applied, which will give shelters in all EU countries. Also, in 2009 a European Support Bureau will be created, which will make the communication process easier between the country-members regarding good practices and experiences in providing shelters.

The upcoming elections and the new Euro-parliament, which will be created after them, will define the development course of Europe and its future.

In Greece, the deadline for registering foreign citizens for voting has expired at the beginning of March. European countries citizens can not only vote but also can be included in the bulletins of the Greek parties, as it usually happens with Greeks abroad, who live in other European countries and often participate in the euro-bulletins. The Leftists Greek Parties offered to Konstantina Kouneva to enter their lists but she refused, based on personal reasons.