The caretaker government announced last week that it would continue to build the wire fence along the Bulgarian – Turkish border, in order to stop the refugee flow coming towards the EU from the Middle East , across Bulgaria's territory. The fence should cover some 160 km from the border, which are currently not covered by the integrated video control system. The new construction activities will cost about EUR 20 mln. and according to the interior ministry the fence will save a lot of money to the Bulgarian taxpayer, now paid on the enforced patrol teams along the green borderline with the southern neighbor.

These plans immediately fell victims to criticism. Legal activists in Bulgaria blamed the government for violations of our own constitution and a series of UN conventions. Perhaps the EU will voice criticism too as it is not quite willing to receive refugees from Syria and other hot spots across the Middle East. Some 2 mln. Syrians are considered to have left their country, while Europe is ready to receive barely 10,000 of those, Christians if possible. Germany and Sweden are the most generous ones, while many other EU member-states, such as Great Britain and France restrain themselves. For the moment Brussels promises financial and technical assistance only for those member countries, forming the external EU border, but this soon might change. The newly elected President of the EC Jean-Claude Juncker has already declared his intention to appoint a commissioner on migration. The heads of state and governments adopted during the last June-held summit the first concrete program on a common migration policy. Possibilities for legal migration towards the EU must be created over the next 5 years and the community will continue to invest in and expand the now existing EUROSUR border control program, along with the FRONTEX agency. The most important thing: the migration wave burden should be distributed in solidarity, involving all EU member-states.

The refugee influx towards the promised land, named European Union is a common European issue, but not all European capitals realize that. At the moment everyone saves himself the best way he can – Bulgaria, Greece and Spain see the solution in the construction of fences along their borders, while the northern member states prefer to ignore the southern refugee crisis. However, it won’t be solved even by the appointment of a migration commissioner, as the problem is economic in its core. It will continue its existence until there are such huge differences in the standard of living in the rich Europe and the poor countries in the Middle East and Africa.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev