STATEMENT OF THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL IVAN GESHEV

4 December 2022

Regarding the statement of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, to the public media NOS that he "wants to rule out the possibility of illegally crossing the border between Turkey and the Schengen area in Bulgaria with a 50-euro bill “ as the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria I declare that the Prosecutor's Office does not have such data or evidences.

If our law enforcement partners in the Netherlands are in possession of suchlike evidence, I expect them to be made available to us under the international legal aid, subject to the principles of the rule of law. Bulgaria is a legal state and part of the European Union and as such respects and protects the European values.”