site.btaBulgaria Can Cope with the 1,200 Migrant Quota, PM Borissov Says

Bulgaria Can Cope with the 1,200 Migrant Quota,  PM Borissov Says

Varna, on the Black Sea, September 18 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said here Friday that Bulgaria can cope with 1,200 migrants that it is expected to accept under the EU migrant relocation key. Borissov was speaking to the press on the sidelines of an international transport forum.

The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Vali of Edirne and the Turkish authorities for their efforts to stem the stream of migrants.

The army has not been sent to BulgariaТs border with Turkey yet because there is no such need at the moment. If a need arises, the reaction will be swift, he pointed out. All measures have been taken and the entire army command is ready to react if such a need arises.

Defence Minister Nikolai Nenchev told journalists Friday that a total of 130 Bulgarian military have been sent to the border and there is readiness to increase the number to 1,000 on the principle of rotation, which means about 300 rotating every 24 hours.

Borissov noted that the government is coordinating its actions with the Interior Ministry, and more specifically with Border Police.

His position was that the forthcoming extraordinary European Council will pass a firm decision what the political influence on the processes may be. He expressed hope that a decision will be made about the source of the migrant problem - Syria, and that the large European countries will come to an agreement on how to resolve it.

The unprecedented migration pressure should be considered very seriously by the entire EU, which currently seems incapable of making quick and clear decisions in response to the crisis, Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov added. The focus should be on the root of the problem: the situation in Syria and the Islamic State.

"Work has to be done in a serious coalition, with Russia being part of the solution," Mitov said.

In his opinion, the EU should work along several lines to deal with the situation. It is important to ease migration pressure by opening centres beyond the EU borders. It should also become clear that refugee status does not give anyone the right to remain in the European Union forever. Shared border protection should also be stepped up and the fight with human trafficking should be intensified, bearing in mind that this "business" will not disappear with the resolution of the problem in Syria.

He reiterated his earlier statement that there will be no buffer zone against migration on Bulgarian territory. "Bulgaria will agree to no such thing," Mitov said.

"Determining the migrant quotas does not solve anything. This is a temporary solution for a certain number of people. Quotas do not discourage pressure or migrant flows, quite the contrary - they encourage them," Mitov pointed out. It is for this reason why migration centres should be set up outside the EU and considerable assistance should be offered to the countries that have already born the brunt of the migration crisis, including Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.

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By 02:23 on 19.01.2025 Today`s news

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