site.btaPrime Minister Borissov Urges European Council to Enforce Strict Control of EU's External Borders

Prime Minister Borissov Urges European Council to Enforce Strict Control of EU's External Borders

Brussels, February 19 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Friday he has urged EU leaders to close the bloc's external borders to migrants who do not use the official border passes. Borissov, who was in Brussels for a European Council meeting, told journalists that migrants can come not only from war-torn Syria but also from Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. "Instead of being afraid, why don't we close our borders and allow only the passage of those who observe the procedures and the rules?", he suggested.

He noted that the EU leaders have practically legalized anyone's entry to any country. "It is not that I agree, but that was the collective decision," he added.

Borissov asked the European Council why the migration hotspots must be inside the EU and not outside. If border controls are strict, those migrants for whom there is no room inside will wait outside, he argued. "What we are doing now is letting them into the EU and then starting arguments between the countries about who should take how many of them," he said.

Borissov fears that after NATO begins patrolling the Aegean Sea, many more migrants will come to Bulgaria. "How can I agree with that?", he exclaimed. "I asked my colleagues if someone could explain how he imagines it will be. Suppose that 200,000 migrants come to Bulgaria - what am I going to do with them if my proposal to keep them out is rejected by the others? They do not want them, either. Last night we stayed up until 4 a.m. Bulgarian time, approving mutually exclusive provisions just for the sake of arriving at a decision, but how is it going to be done - no one has an answer," the Prime Minister argued.

Discussing the negotiations on Britain's relationship with the EU, Borissov said a solution is unlikely if everyone seeks to defend their own interests. "The ultimate goal is to preserve the unity of the EU. This is very important to Bulgaria. I advised my Eastern European colleagues to think about it, too," he said, noting that Britain is a major contributor to the EU budget and if the country leaves the bloc, the Cohesion Funds will collapse. The EU's Eastern European members rely heavily on the Cohesion Funds for their infrastructure and economic competitiveness, he said. "I am anxious because, on the one hand, everyone understands the problem, but on the other hand, everyone wants to prevail over the rest and this is disastrous for a collective body," Borissov said.

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Prime Minister Boyko Borissov met with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to discuss ways to solve the migration problem. The two had a bilateral session in Brussels in the sidelines of the European Council meeting, the Bulgarian Cabinet Information Service said.