Deputy PM: Schengen Accession of Bulgaria, Romania Is Key for Solving Refugee Crisis

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva stated on Wednesday that the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen Area is part of the solution to the unprecedented refugee crisis affecting Europe.

According to her, this was the case especially now that changes to guarding the external borders of the EU were being discussed.

In her words, the accession of the countries to the Schengen Area represented part of the common European security equation.

Being at the forefront of refugee waves and a transit country for them at the same time, Bulgaria is deeply interested in the migrant policy of the EU and its accession to the Schengen Area.

Kuneva pointed that these were extremely important conditions for ensuring the security in Bulgaria and the EU as a whole.

Her comments came in response to the State of the Union speech of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the measures outlined by him for dealing with the refugee crisis.

Kuneva was firm that the measures presented by Juncker to a large extent coincided with the stance of the Bulgarian government, which was presented on Tuesday.

According to her, both Bulgaria and the European Commission insisted on reassessment of the Dublin regulation, strengthening of Frontex and the guard at the external borders, reinforcing the capabilities of the migration agencies.

In her words, the European Commission was also working towards common migrant policy as the EU could not reach a true solution of the crisis with 28 different asylum and migration systems.

She commended the call of the European Commission to distinguish between refugees and economic migrants and to devise a list of safe countries of origin.

As regards the proposed migrant quotas, Kuneva noted that Bulgaria respects the solidarity principle, but the exact numbers of refugees will be analysed and evaluated according to the relevant criteria.

Among the criteria determining the quotas were GDP, unemployment rate, percentage of immigrants, but she noted that the integration capability of the country should also be taken into account in the assessment.

Kuneva was firm that the quotas should be applicable to all member states as this was a common problem and this was an issue of both solidarity and humanity.

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