Bulgaria streamlines functioning of counterterrorism centre

Bulgarian government issued a decree on Wednesday in a bid to optimize functioning of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) that was established in June 2014.

"Then, the NCC was defined as a unified national platform for the collection and processing of information for identification of persons and organizations related to terrorism," a government statement said.

However, during the nearly one-year operation of the NCC, authorities identified the need to optimize the processes of receiving, processing and exchange of information necessary for the detection, prevention and suppression of terrorist threats, the statement said.

Therefore, on Wednesday the government extended the scope of information processed by NCC, by including events directly related to and preceding terrorism, namely violent extremism and radicalization leading to terrorism, the statement said.

The government also improved the coordination of information with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior and the directors of institutions such as civilian and military intelligence, the statement said.

Meanwhile, NCC would no longer receive and process passenger name record data on passengers transported by air because of the upcoming establishment of a separate unit responsible for it.

In June, Bulgarian government approved amendments to four laws in order to ban suspected terrorists from entering the country's territory amid target the growing threat to international peace and security.

On Wednesday last week, Bulgarian law enforcement authorities have expelled one Syrian and one Afghan citizen on accusations of endangering the security of the country and the European Union.