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EU needs to help Greece to strengthen border: Bulgarian FM

Xinhua, January 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov here on Thursday said the European Union (EU) should help Greece to strengthen its border against the influx of illegal migrants and establish strict control measures.

The EU needs to focus its efforts on the border of Greece, because at the moment it is the most permeable to flows of people, Mitov said at a joint press conference after talks with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

"We cannot blame Greece that it does not protect its border well, because this border has special characteristics," Mitov said. It is difficult to control sea borders, not to mention so many islands, he said.

Therefore, the EU should make every effort to help Greece to better control its border, Mitov said.

The EU, all its institutions and all member states, have to make this happen as quickly as possible, he said. " European citizens expect us to take the control again in our hands," Mitov said.

Of course, Turkey also has an important and essential role in this process, Mitov added.

"We have to protect Europe, and there is no doubt that Europe's external borders must be strengthened," Szijjarto said in turn.

The best solution is if Greece can actually be able to respond to these things, but now such a situation does not exist, Szijjarto said.

Bulgaria has set a good example of reliable protection of the external borders of the EU, successful control, and addressing the challenges, so the European institutions should initiate a procedure of Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, Szijjarto said. Endit