Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest member state, on Monday took over the bloc's six-month revolving presidency with the ongoing migrant crisis and Brexit among the top items on its agenda. "Bulgaria will take charge of the EU presidency at a key moment for the union May the slogan 'strength in unity' guide us," conservative and pro-EU Prime Minister Boyko Borisov wrote in a post on Facebook.
"I am confident that we shall work with success on our priorities, on continuity," added Borisov. The presidency, which rotates between different EU member states, will give Bulgaria the opportunity to chair meetings and set agendas, as the bloc grapples with the record influx of migrants, management of its borders, rising populism and Britain's EU divorce. Taking over from Estonia, Bulgaria will have to manage a June deadline for EU leaders to agree an overhaul of the so-called Dublin Regulation, under which the country where an asylum seeker arrives is responsible for them.
The system currently puts too much pressure on frontline states Greece and Italy, but countries have been divided over how to replace it. To solve the refugee crisis, Sofia is also expected to push for normalised ties with Turkey, with which Bulgaria shares a 260-kilometre (160-mile) border.
Relations have soured dramatically between the bloc and Turkey since the failed coup against president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.
Comments
Comments are closed.