"The solution to the refugee crisis is beyond the powers of any country, whichever it might be. Europe can solve different crises, whether Greek, Ukrainian, refugee or any other only when we are together", said yesterday President Rossen Plevneliev in his speech on the occasion of the 130^th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The day before, the two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg ended with yet another failed attempt at consensus on the refugee crisis. Some of those present insisted on mandatory quotas for refugees, and others - first to tighten border controls and to combat traffickers. Foreign ministers of the EU countries have declared their desire for the establishment in third countries of safe areas for refugees and reception centers for their applications, reads a joint declaration adopted at the meeting.

"The European Commission and EU Member States need to establish operational limits in EU countries and perhaps in neighboring Balkan countries, reception centers for migrants where they will be identified and registered before their applications for asylum are considered. The EU and Member States must support this common effort by providing personnel and technical assistance," the document said. Brussels now focuses entirely on the quotas for refugees, not on the problem of illegal immigrants. According to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini," we should talk only about a refugee crisis, because the majority of the coming migrants are Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Iraqis fleeing the war." The EU plans to create a "permanent mechanism for settlement of migrants in countries of the community, as the number of incoming migrants should be determined in proportion to the size of the EU member states," is the opinion of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg Jean Asselborn, whose country holds the EU presidency.

A priority for Bulgaria is to maintain the high level of preparedness for a potential increase in migratory pressures and to provide the necessary organization, conditions and care for asylum seekers in the country.

"I think that the great merit of our policy is that we manage to deal with this problem and to register all who enter legally, to identify their origin, their personality and take their fingerprints,” Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Rumyana Bachvarova said in the plenary hall during the first blitz control of the new plenary session. "From now on, our efforts are directed at having illegal migrants, mainly from Turkey, be detained and brought to the registration centers to channel the process. Despite the difficulties and the threefold increase in intensity, we manage to register the majority of people who enter our territory, to grant them this status and to provide them care in refugee centers, which requires our humane attitude.” 

According to Deputy PM Bachvarova, the government will take measures to deal even with higher migration pressure than the current one. The number of migrants across this country has declined significantly since their paths have shifted through our western neighbors to Hungary and Austria.

"We are ready to act in three different versions and we know what our steps would be. Currently we are acting under the first option, because we manage to master the situation. We are preparing for the possible second option by exploring the possibility of six more registration centers in order to avoid what is happening in Macedonia and Serbia," continues Deputy PM Bachvarova, adding that this policy eliminates the danger to create a threat to national security. More from her:

"The situation is very dynamic. The refugee pressure in neighboring countries is difficult to imagine, so we do not exclude the option that our powers might prove insufficient. One of the reasons that Bulgaria has about 16,000 refugees, as opposed to 160,000 in Macedonia and110,000 in Serbia and many more in Greece is that the people and those who help them know that it is very difficult to pass through Bulgarian territory," Interior Minister Bachvarova said in parliament.

Half of the fence along the Bulgarian-Turkish border should be completed by the end of this autumn, predicts Deputy Prime Minister Rumiana Bachvarova. Already about 20 km of the facility have been built, which should cover nearly 130 kilometers. She explained that special openings will be made in the facility through which people can pass, as the goal is to direct the immigrant flow to the official border crossings.

English Rossitsa Petcova