Never before have there been overlapping crises which the EU has to handle, is the common opinion shared by the presidents of the nine EU member states taking part in the meeting of the Arraiolos group. The Union has to display a humane attitude to those who have reached the common borders in line with the European and global standards. At the same time the problems which provoke waves of refugees have to be addressed, is the position voiced by the heads of state. An integrated European approach to solving these problems should be adopted, President Rosen Plevneliev said.

Only in the past year terrorism has forced millions of people to leave their homes and head for the EU borders and therefore we share the opinion that only together, within a broad coalition can we solve the problem with the terrorist organizations, President Rosen Plevneliev said. Coping with refugee flows requires heightened attention on the part of the European institutions and a common European policy, the Bulgarian Head of State said.

“The hope is that there is an EU commissioner who has substantial experience in the sphere of immigration, namely the representative of Greece.  It will not be easy because crises cannot be solved overnight,” Rosen Plevneliev pointed out.

At the forum the Head of State once again called on for a fair distribution of the burden of the immigration wave, for strengthening the European institutions, Frontex and mostly for prevention. “In order to be efficient, we have to pay attention to and undertake activities in Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Ukraine so that these people can live in their own countries, not become refugees, the President said.

According to Eurostat statistics, 60 percent of the immigrants entering the EU head for a total of five countries, and 90 percent of them head for 10 countries. “This fact shows that the distribution of the burden is not fair. This is precisely what the new European policy should focus its attention on,” Rosen Plevneliev emphasized. The Head of State added that the participants in the meeting have agreed on the necessity to promptly adopt a policy on addressing the refugee pressure and they expect action on the part of the European Commission. “What the debates on the energy problems and those of the refugees have in common is namely the fact that such difficult problems can be solved only if a common European approach is adopted, based on the solidarity between and the joint efforts of the member states,” the Bulgarian Head of State further said.