Bulgarian President Concerned with Ongoing Refugee Influx

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has voiced concern over the ongoing refugee influx in the country.

Addressing Wednesday’s sitting of the country’s Consultative Council on National Security, Plevneliev noted that the crisis in the Middle East poises risks for Bulgaria’s national security, the main one of them being the increased migrant pressure.

Plevneliev strongly criticized the surge in anti-refugee and ultranationalist sentiments that has been observed in Bulgaria recently, naming xenophobia and hate speech as other major risks for the country.

“Each politician should be worried by the attempts to divide the nation and make people oppose each other,” Plevneliev said, commenting on the internal political turmoil in Bulgaria.

He criticized the politicians’ habit of coming up with “counter-rallies, counter-students and counter-citizens” in response to genuine protests.

“Protests have been held, and will be held. But the counter-protest is a Bulgarian innovation, and we should contemplate the effects of its wide use nowadays,” he said, apparently referring to regular the counter-rallies staged by government supporters in front of the Presidential Palace in Sofia.

“Another serious risk for our national security is Bulgaria’s energy dependence,” the President also stated on Wednesday, warning that a new gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine would have even worse consequences for his country due to its deteriorated economy.

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