site.btaBulgaria Urges EU to Provide Protection of All Borders with Turkey

Bulgaria Urges EU to Provide Protection of All Borders with Turkey

Brussels, March 11 (BTA corr. Nikolai Jeliazkov) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has sent a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk in which he insists that the EU provide for the protection of all external borders with Turkey.

The letter is prompted by the negotiations with Ankara about the reduction of the migratory flow. Borissov argues that such a measure would ensure the protection of the entire EU. He says that all front-line countries should be able to rely on aid from the EU in the management and protection of the EU external borders and should not be left to cope on their own.

Borissov further notes that the EU should not concentrate only on the protection of the Greek-Turkish sea border inasmuch as the direction of movement of the migrants is unpredictable. The Bulgarian Prime Minister insists that the talks with Ankara should also include Turkey's land border with Greece and Bulgaria, as well as the Black Sea border between the EU and Turkey.

Bulgaria would not accept a partial commitment on the part of Turkey with the border around the Greek isles because this would open new routes for the migrants. Bulgaria insists that the future agreement with Ankara include a commitment for protection of Turkey's borders with Greece and Bulgaria.

Bulgaria also holds that the question of lifting the visas for Turkish nationals should not be bound with dates but with the results of the application of the readmission agreement between Turkey and the EU. Bulgaria also urges for providing the necessary resources for all countries affected by the migratory flows so that the agreement on the return of illegal migrants to Turkey is implemented in real.

Bulgaria's Permanent Representative in the EU Ambassador Dimiter Tsanchev said that Bulgaria's position on accelerating the EU membership negotiations with Ankara is to comply with the mechanism established for far. Bulgaria is not against the opening of new chapters of negotiations in respect of which Turkey has met all required criteria, Tsanchev said. "Going outside this process may compromise it in respect of other countries which are yet to conduct negotiations," Tsanchev said.