"Crises in Europe in the recent years have clearly suggested the need of systemic parties which do not succumb to either populist or nationalist ideas. We should be careful with our selfish motivation”. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov made this statement one day after the nail-biting European Union summit focused on two fateful issues for the bloc - the refugee crisis and the role of Great Britain in EU. Both topics will have their follow-up, and they only naturally were central to yesterday's conference of the German Konrad Adenauer political foundation held in Sofia. 

In recent years international political affairs have proceeded with excessive dynamism impacting strongly the European Union. The crisis in Crimea and Ukraine and the conflict in Syria, as well as the great human tragedies entailing from them, speak for themselves. This dynamism has also had an impact on Bulgaria.  
 
"We were wrong in equalizing illegal immigration with legal border crossing”, the Bulgarian prime minister argued. “I have no doubt that during the next summit my proposal to shut down all EU borders will be accepted so as to make sure that the refugee flow is going to pass via official border crossings exclusively. We shut down borders, leave checkpoints open and in control of refugees, who are taken to places where adequate conditions for them have been created." 
 
The refugee crisis that has swept Central and Northern Europe is a problem that EU outer border countries including Italy, Greece and Bulgaria have been battling with for years. The situation has been changing very quickly. Events act as a constant reminder of the fact that globalization while being the source of incredible opportunity, is also charged with increasing risks. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov said in this regard that what had until recently looked as a distant threat had now become a fact on borders, in societies, at the very heart of Europe.  
 
"The political, economic and social instability in the Middle East and North Africa is likely to go on for at least a decade”, Minister Mitov commented. "Terrorist threats are quite obvious and they require more determination from us. In the northeast we have witnessed a flagrant violation of the territorial integrity of a sovereign state that has questioned the principles of European order and security. Many of our common policies require further development and we are convinced that only long-term and systemic solutions would result in lasting stabilization and development of Europe. Therefore, within the European Union and NATO we are in need of even closer integration and solidarity”, the foreign minister said.  
 
This thesis has been supported by German Ambassador to Bulgaria Detlef Lingemann. "We ought to make clear to Europeans that the EU is not only a common market but a community of shared values”, the diplomat said and pointed to the important role that Bulgaria plays in the region as a factor of stability and an active member of the EU. Lingemann however addressed a few critical remarks to the Bulgarian government:  
 
"Lasting stability necessitates reforms and we believe Bulgaria is on the right track. The latest monitoring report of the European Commission strongly urges Bulgaria to be more resolute in pursuing reforms already started. They not only open up new opportunities to potential foreign investors but would make Bulgaria more appealing for all young and educated Bulgarians who live and work abroad.” 
 
Prime Minister Borissov did not bypass criticism and advice from Brussels expounded by the European Commission under the verification and cooperation mechanism. As a result of the latest report on Bulgaria's progress in combating corruption experts from Germany, Britain and Holland are expected who are going to work with the Bulgarian Prosecutor's Office.  
 
"Now it is paramount to pass legislation in the judicial system including the anti-corruption bill. This bill is aimed to create a bureau for combating corruption charged with the functions of a second prosecutor's office. In the recent weeks we have become aware that compromise is no longer an option for Bulgaria. In the course of one year, thanks to uncompromising fight with contraband, close to 1.4 billion euro has entered the national revenue. Public procurement projects worth about 850 million euro have been suspended. Unsurprisingly, the reaction against the government is strong and certain circles have been trying to find ways to prevent this course. However this course of action has been enthusiastically supported by Brussels, more notably by the European Commission”, Boyko Borissov concluded.  
 
English Daniela Konstantinova