Bulgarian PM to Participate in Visegrad Group Meeting on Refugee Crisis

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov (R) and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban (L). Photo: BGNES

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will participate in the meeting of the leaders of the Visegrad Group countries in Prague on Monday.

The meeting will mark the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the Visegrad Group, which brings together the countries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Borisov, who was invited to the meeting during the visit of his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to Bulgaria last month, will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov.

Orban and members of his government have repeatedly expressed their support for the accession of Bulgaria to the Schengen Area in order for the EU to be able to deal more effectively with the refugee crisis.

The participants in the meeting will discuss measures on guarding the external borders of the EU in view of the ongoing migrant crisis.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has also been invited to participate in the meeting.

The participation of Borisov was discussed with both European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week.

In a telephone conversation on Sunday, Borisov informed Merkel of the Bulgarian stance and expressed solidarity with Greece.

The Bulgarian prime minister also expressed his disagreement with the construction of a border between Greece and Macedonia.

Borisov highlighted that the EU needs to act as a whole, calling for reaching a common European solution to the migrant influx.

He demonstrated Bulgaria's readiness to cooperate in guarding the external borders and limiting illegal migration.

The Bulgarian prime minister pointed to the important role of European solidarity and its reflection on the EU's cohesion policy.

Borisov called for Merkel's support in solving the situation on the Bulgarian-Greek border where protesting Greek farmers have staged blockades on checkpoints in the past weeks.

As a result, Bulgaria has been incurring economic losses on a daily basis.

During his visit to Prague, Borisov will hold a meeting with his Czech counterpart Bohuslav Sobotka.

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