The refugee crisis turned out to be the leading topic of the first plenary sessions of the European Parliament and of Bulgaria’s National Assembly. During the plenary debate on Tuesday on the outcome of the EU summit in December, EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the European Council Donald Tusk criticized EU leaders for their inability to deal with the migrant and refugee crisis.

"If Member States had met the policies that we have proposed, we would be in a better position in terms of migration," said Jean-Claude Juncker. He recalled that the Commission has already adopted all the necessary measures, but the authorities in the 28 member states have not. "If member states had so far implemented them in practice, we would be in a much better situation now. Inactivity is due to the lack of fulfilled commitments collectively undertaken on behalf of the EU."

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov believes that the European Union should close its borders to refugees. In parliament, during the first blitz control of the new plenary session, he said that neither the agreement from Dublin, nor the system of quota allocation any longer operate:

"Our position has always been adamant that the borders should be immediately closed”, Borissov said. “Those who have entered into Europe for whom we would be able to provide education, work, social care - for them - yes. The rest should be returned to their homes. We also supported the quotas, but they also will not be able to be implemented successfully because we are not going to build a refugee camp but rather a prison. We have many cases in which migrants flee several times from our refugee centers, then we send them back. Europe has no clear position to specify exactly what will happen and how it will happen".

According to Borissov, most of the migrants are from Afghan origin and they could hardly be integrated into society.

After the statement of the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said that Bulgaria expects a definite policy on the issue of the EU external border and clear control there:

"We have insisted for a very long time that the readmission agreement with Turkey might start running sooner. On the other hand, Greece and Turkey must as quickly as possible ratify the agreement for a tripartite control center at the Bulgarian-Turkish and the Greek-Turkish border. It is clear that at some point Europe cannot cope with the influx of people whom we conditionally call refugees, but most of them are not real refugees. We owe some kind of solidarity to actual refugees, but the refugee status does not lastforever. These people should return to participate in the reconstruction and stabilization of their own countries. For economic immigrants, there must be clear rules for their readmission, repatriation, and this should become a European policy."

The topic of migration will be in the spotlight in the European Parliament, says MEP Mariya Gabriel from GERB, Vice-President of the EPP group.

"It is positive that we are clearly aware that a member state cannot cope with this problem. A common approach is needed on the part of European institutions, but mostly by Member States. For this reason, it is necessary to pinpoint the three key elements - strong borders, clear procedures that allow for rapid response in time and a system that is able to anticipate problems and risk situations. Steps have been taken in this direction, but it is important for the EP that member countries do not turn into an impediment to more rapid decision-making, and in a spirit of solidarity and common shared responsibilities to apply the decisions taken at the European level.”

The EP is planning a revision of the Dublin regulations. If this happens, Bulgaria will not be threatened with a situation in which it will need to take back migrants from another country because we have accepted them first. The package on legal migration is expected to be reviewed which the Juncker Commission will present. Within this package revision is expected of the EU Blue Card. It allows citizens of countries outside the EU, if necessary, in the case of need in the labor market, to start work in a Member State. The expected revision of the Blue Card procedure enables the exchange of personnel, for whom the goal is to return home and not remain permanently in Europe. Good ideas, but until adopted, we need to tackle with our own forces and to rely on the shared responsibilities of the Member States. The question is: are they really shared and to what degree…

English Rossitsa Petcova