For the first time in its newest history, Bulgaria has been hit by an inflow of refugees, which is a new challenge we are facing. This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said during his meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. According to the Head of State, the issue related to refugees and asylum seekers should not be used to gain narrow political dividends. Instead efforts should be put into drafting a systematic and long-term plan for overcoming the challenge.
The President highly appreciated the initiative launched by a number of NGOs and groups of citizens and their commitment to start campaigns for providing help to the asylum seekers. He said that Bulgarians are a noble people, which is always ready to provide help to the people in need, a fact which he takes pride in. As an EU member state, Bulgaria cherishes the values of humanness, tolerance, and solidarity, the Head of state added.
During the talks EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva pointed out that we should not only draw on the experience of the European states, which have been tackling refugee issues years on end, but also strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area. Currently the majority of Syrian refugees have settled in Germany, Sweden, France, Belgium and Great Britain. EU Commissioner Georgieva and her team are intensively working on the resolving the issue together with the team of EU Commissioner Cecilia Malstrom. So far Bulgaria has been given technical assistance and four EU states have provided financial support. The details concerning the financial assistance are yet to be specified.
EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva further emphasized that the refugee issue is related to values of who we, the Bulgarians, are and to what people we want our children to be. The Syrian refugees are people in need who have been forced to leave their country out of necessity. We should not forget that prior to the war there, the country had enjoyed a good standard of living, while the people are now living in terrible conditions, Commissioner Georgieva said.
The two politicians emphasized the importance of not using the issue for political purposes and for manipulation as this naturally fuels public fears and justified concerns. Therefore the institutions should clearly explain their actions and the reasons to take action. According to Commissioner Georgieva, attention should also be paid to the local communities in which the refugees are given shelter. Resources should also be allocated to these regions to help local communities and boost regional development.