Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia Ready to Close Borders for Migrants

Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia are concerned that possible closing of borders for migrants by some European Union countries may cause a bottleneck stranding millions of refugees on their territory, forcing the three states to close their borders as well.

   Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov met Romanian and Serbian counterparts Victor Ponta and Aleksandar Vucic in Sofia Saturday to coordinate their policies before EU leaders gather on Sunday to forge plans to control the region’s worst migrant crisis since World War II.

   “If Germany and Austria or other states close their borders for migrants, we won’t allow our countries to become a buffer zone for millions of migrants stranded between Turkey and the new barriers that may follow,” Borissov told reporters in Sofia. “We’re also prepared to close our borders immediately.”

   With more than a million migrants set to reach the EU this year and cold weather settling in, national authorities have taken unilateral decisions to close borders and send asylum-seekers to neighboring countries. Civil-war-torn Syria, origin of many of the refugees, could become an even bigger exodus point as Russia pursues a bombing campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Πηγή: bloomberg.com