Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has declared that he will be asking European Union (EU) leaders for an immediate payment of €160 million at Friday’s summit in Bratislava to be used on border defence, slamming them for their lack of solidarity.
According to local news agencies, speaking in the village of Lessowo approximately two miles from the Bulgarian border with Turkey, Mr. Borissov said Wednesday: “Bulgaria is entitled to this money – 160 million euro. Bulgarians need to hear it.
“We are tired of hearing: you are not alone, we are with you, together we can do more.”
Referencing the Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, he added: “Last week the Greeks got 165 million. Of course, the Commissioner is Greek.”
Mr. Borissov was visiting Lessowo to view the newly-constructed razor-wire fences which represent the beginning of what will be a 160-mile long barrier along the Turkish border, designed to stem the flow of migrants into Europe, Euractiv has reported.
He was joined on his trip by the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who spoke approvingly of the actions taken by Bulgaria in securing its borders.
Lending his support to the demand for money he said: “It is not possible that the EU would agree to pay €3 billion to Turkey, which is not an EU country, and not assist Bulgaria with €160 million.
“Bulgaria is protecting itself very seriously, there is no naivety here, there is no European empty talk here. Here we face reality. The biggest problem for the EU is the naivety on which Brussels politics are based, which brought to Europe over one million migrants.”
Deriding Brussels’ preferred method of dealing with the migrants, Mr. Orbán said: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
And commenting on a recent controversial statement by Luxembourg’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jean Asselborn, who opined that Hungary should be expelled from the EU, the Hungarian Prime Minister said: “We don’t accept a former Communist teaching democracy to a country who fought Communism for 40 years”.
16,000 migrants have been registered in Bulgaria since the beginning of 2016. According to local authorities, the numbers recorded in August were twice the figure reached in previous months.
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