No serious migrant pressure on Bulgaria, PM tells EC President
Migrant pressure on Bulgaria is not serious at the moment and the situation at the country’s border with Turkey is calm, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a telephone conversation on March 1, according to the government information service.
Borissov and Von der Leyen discussed the situation in Syria and the situation with migrants, expressing concern about events in Greece, the statement said.
The conversation was held on the same day that EU border agency Frontex said that it was redeploying equipment and additional officers to Greece and closely monitoring the situation.
Greek authorities said on March 1 that they had prevented thousands of attempts to cross the border illegally from Turkey into Greece.
The pressure on the Greek border followed reports that Turkey would allow migrants to cross its border into Europe.
The Bulgarian government statement said that Von der Leyen had given an assurance that Greece and Bulgaria have the full support of the European Commission, which was ready to provide additional assistance to both countries, including through Frontex for border areas.
The phone conversation came on the eve of a visit to Ankara by Borissov to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The
statement said that Borissov had told Von der Leyen that no country
in a situation like that of Turkey should be left isolated but should
be supported as soon as possible.
Only through joint efforts
and diplomacy can the problem of migration be solved in the long
term, Borissov said.
