A day before the Brussels’ held summit of the heads of states and governments, the EC has reminded that the implementation of the quotas for the receiving of 160,000 refugees should begin. The migration subject is the leading topic at the sitting of the European Council. The referendum for Great Britain’s staying within the EU is also to be tackled, along with climate change.

The refugee wave topic and its reflection on the EU’s labor market was on the agenda of the Council of the EU with the participation of ministers of labor in Luxembourg, as proposed by Vice Premier and Minister of Labor and Social Policy Ivaylo Kalfin. The separate EU member-states implement different approaches for coping with the issue. In an interview for RB Minister Kalfin said:

“We still face some problems at the moment, regarding the formulation of a clear European policy, as far as refugees are concerned. I proposed several things on gaps in this policy. Above all, the EU should declare its capacity for refugee receiving – the member-states are different. Border states like Bulgaria are not particularly enthusiastic. On the other hand countries like Sweden and Germany see refugees as a chance to solve demographic issues, as manpower etc. No matter what the attitude is, Europe has its capacity. We can’t welcome all those 10,000 people who penetrate EU territory on certain days.”

According to Minister Kalfin the so-called hot spots for the receiving of refugees should be situated outside Europe.

“Right now Europe stimulates this huge channeling business. These people spend thousands of dollars per capita, in order to come from the Syrian border to Europe, while some of them even lose their lives in the Mediterranean. All this money goes into the pockets of the illegal channeling business. Europe needs a different approach – we determine our capacity and then we go to the reception camps closes to Syrian territory - in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, to determine on the spot who will receive asylum in Europe, according to definite EU criteria. This is an emergency situation and obviously the usual approach is insufficient. The Dublin Treaty is absurd. It says that a refugee should stay with the first EU member-state they have stepped into. Hungary saw 10,000 approaches a day. Where exactly are those people supposed to stay? Schengen allows separate border check control points to be opened in times of crises. I think the current situation is more than a crisis. A list of countries is necessary, where the asylum applicants may come from. Eurostat statistics has recently pointed out that less than 1/3 of the refugees are Syrians, at the expense of Russians, Ukrainians, Albanians and people from Kosovo. This is absurd.”

A conflict occurred at the Council’s session in Luxembourg between the ministers from the Eurozone states and the rest, in regard with their isolation and grouping at the making of important decisions, Minister Kalfin explained. That was the reason why the second group of ministers wrote a sharp letter of protest against the creation of a Europe in two parts – something inadmissible.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev