site.btaPresident Radev in Munich: International Community Needs Long-Term Strategy for Migration Crisis

President Radev in Munich: International Community Needs Long-Term Strategy for Migration Crisis

Munich/Sofia, February 17 (BTA) - Addressing a working meeting in the framework of the Munich Security Conference, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev called on the international community to get united in order to draw up a long-term strategy for the migratory and refugee crisis, the President's press secretariat reported on Friday.

Radev said that existing regulations do not offer sustainable solutions to address the causes of migrant movements and to integrate the refugees in the receiving societies, so the matter will remain on the international agenda in the coming years.

He said: "No country was prepared for the crisis when it started. Nowadays, many European nations are faced with the challenge of achieving real integration of thousands of refugees." In order for the future joint strategy to be successful, it must be seen what real integration means and how it can be achieved. "When you go to another country, you have to obey its rules. How far you go in keeping your own values and accepting new values is the key to integration in a given society," Radev said.

The meeting considered the need to apply different approaches to economic migrants and war-fleeing refugees. Speakers said the rights of asylum seekers should be respected and more severe measures should be taken against illicit human trafficking.

The meeting was attended by Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for the European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, as well as senior representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and government ministers.