site.btaBulgarian Foreign Minister: Economic Immigrants Must Be Repatriated

Bulgarian Foreign Minister: Economic Immigrants Must Be Repatriated

Sofia, August 27 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov commented Thursday that the authorities should pay more attention to the country of origin of protection seekers and start to send back economic immigrants. Mitov was commenting the refugee crisis and the situation in Macedonia and Serbia which have been overcome by waves of protection seekers.

In the Minister's words, Europe is aware that the pressure does not only come from people whose life is under threat and who need protection: there are also economic migrants and the attitude to the first and the second group need to be clearly defined. "A discussion on this has long been on at the level of the European Council but the measures that have been outlined so far deal with the consequences rather than with the causes of this migraton pressure. The causes are clear: the conflict in Syria and the growing influence of the Islamic State is the prime generator of refugee flows and this is where more serious efforts are called for," said Mitov.

He admitted that the measures which have been implemented so far have failed to produce the desired effect and a new strategy is needed against the Islamic State. "The Islamic State is creating a state architecture, which causes a very big concern."

As new measures are mapped out against this threat, the countries from the Middle East and North Africa need to get involved in the process, the Minister added.

"We have long taken measures: you know that our border is more secure than those of the other countries in the region. Bulgaria has long come to understand the potential threats," Mitov said adding that Bulgaria fulfills strictly its obligations for protecting the EU external border.