/ world today news/ “Closing the previous Balkan route of migration will divert refugee flows through Bulgaria and Albania,” said Iliana Yotova during a debate in the plenary hall of the European Parliament on a comprehensive approach to migration. The document is expected to be voted on by a large majority later this afternoon.
According to her, Europe continues to pursue a “piecemeal” policy to resolve the refugee crisis. “There cannot be a successful migration policy for only one external border or with only one agreement, in this case – the one concluded with Turkey,” underlined Iliana Yotova.
She sharply criticized the signed EU-Turkey agreement, which is already beginning to slip and create more problems than concrete results. Mrs. Yotova also commented on the European Commission’s ideas for changing the Dublin Regulation presented last week. The reform originally envisioned repealing the text that obliges refugees to receive asylum in the first EU country they arrive in. It is this text that has led to large accumulations of migrants in the countries of the external borders and creates potential risks for these countries, including Bulgaria. Iliana Yotova called the proposed changes “cosmetic corrections”. The Bulgarian MEP once again asked why the new agency for the protection of land and sea external borders will protect only Schengen Europe, but not Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia.
“We have been trying to treat the consequences for several years now, but we have done nothing to eliminate the causes of the unprecedented crisis,” emphasized Mrs. Yotova, who is the vice-chairman of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs of the European Parliament.
Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos admitted during the debate with MEPs that “it is clear that the asylum system as it exists today is not functioning well”. According to him, Europe should adapt its migration policy to provide legal and safe routes to the EU for those in need of protection. Avramopoulos emphasized in his answer that “we are not looking for a cosmetic change in the reform. We want an ambitious and qualitative change of the Dublin Regulation that will bring justice for all”. The European Commissioner admitted that the cooperation with Turkey is not easy, but nevertheless, results have been achieved.
Late last night, the first discussion took place in the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on the new agency for the protection of the EU’s external land and sea borders. Questions related to the sovereignty of state borders and the criteria for the new agency’s intervention in cases of migratory pressure remain open. Mrs. Yotova initiated a change in the proposed EC regulation, providing for the inclusion of the non-Schengen countries – Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia – in the scope of the border and coast guard agency. According to her, if the text remains in its current form, conditions will be created for the transformation of non-Schengen EU border states into a buffer zone and a huge refugee camp.
#Closing #current #Balkan #route #divert #refugees #Bulgaria #Albania
