site.btaSocialists Don't Want Bulgaria to Take Back Migrants for Money

Sofia, June 22 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) will oppose a possible deal under which Bulgaria may be given money in exchange for accepting returned migrants, BSP leader Kornelia Ninova said in a declaration on the EU migration policy and the forthcoming EU summit on June 28.

Ninova said Europe is torn by contradictions on the matter of migration. A German proposal has been made public, suggesting that bilateral agreements should be signed with such countries as Bulgaria, Greece and Italy similar to the EU-Turkey agreement, which, in essence, means "taking back migrants for money."

No one knows what will happen at the EU summit and what position will be expressed by the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Ninova said. "If he agrees to a deal to receive money in exchange for taking migrants from Europe back to Bulgaria, we will oppose it firmly," she said.

"What kind of solution will the Prime Minister propose at the meeting? Is there a decision of the Bulgarian Council of Ministers?" Ninova wondered.

She demanded to know whether it is true that last month's EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia discussed the possibility of setting up migrant camps in the Balkan countries, as reported by a French newspaper.

"You say we should invite foreigners to solve our demographic problems. We say we should give incentives to Bulgarian families and young people instead," Ninova argued. "The most important objective is to prevent Bulgaria and the Balkans from becoming one huge migrant camp, a buffer zone between areas of conflict and the Schengen area."