Balkans not to brook ‘refugee buffer zone’: Bulgaria PM
Prime Minister Borisov criticizes 'empty and meaningless' meetings in Brussels, laments lack of strategy in tackling refugee crisis
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said his country would follow suit if Germany and other European states decide to close their borders to stem the refugee flow.
Borisov said Saturday his country would not “remain in the buffer zone”.
The Balkans has been a transit route for thousands of refugees seeking a better life in Europe or relief from conflict.
"If Germany, Austria and other states close their borders, we shall not allow our people to remain in the buffer zone, we shall close our borders too,” Borisov said a joint press conference in capital Sofia along with his Romanian and Serbian opposite numbers, Victor Ponta and Aleksandar Vucic, respectively.
Borisov added that he feared European countries lacked a “specific target” as they bore the brunt of the biggest refugee crisis Europe faced in well over half a century.
“Where is this refugee wave going? Where will these refugees work in the future? How will they be integrated? Where do the children get education?" the prime minister asked.
"We do not see light at the end of the tunnel. Meetings that we are holding every three days in Brussels are empty and meaningless. There is no horizon, no solution," he said.
During the press conference, both Romanian Prime Minister Ponta and Serbian Prime Minister Vucic affirmed that the three countries would act as part of a common strategy.
