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Bulgarian, Italian presidents call for urgent EU solution to migration crisis

Xinhua, September 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella here on Tuesday said the European Union (EU) should as soon as possible adopt a common solution to the migration crisis.

The migration crisis was at the center of their meeting, and in a few days in Bratislava the EU leaders would again address this problem, Plevneliev said at a joint press conference after bilateral talks.

"We are aware that the migration problem will be permanently on the table, because the trend is not just from one region and one country," Plevneliev said.

Plevneliev was confident that the EU leaders in Bratislava would agree that the European institutions for crisis management should be strengthened, and the EU external borders must be protected more effectively.

He also hoped that everyone in Bratislava would realize that the only sustainable solution, namely the common European solution, would pass through a fair formula for redistribution of migrants, which would take into account the interests of individual countries.

Plevneliev said everyone would recognize that the agreement with Turkey works.

"However, we are aware that not only Turkey but many other countries are, I will call them 'guardians of the gates' of Europe, including Turkey, Libya, Egypt and other Mediterranean countries," he said.

Mattarella shared the opinion of his Bulgarian counterpart, saying there were two ways to address this problem that the EU "must adopt now and quickly."

One of those ways was to provide aid to the countries of origin of migrants. "I realize that this requires large investment efforts," Mattarella said.

Meanwhile, the EU should develop other initiatives such as the creation of a common EU coastguard, a common system for asylum and accommodation for the migrants, and also for the return of migrants who are not entitled to asylum, he said.

If Europe does not take the necessary actions, the problem would become unmanageable, Mattarella said. Endit