Migrant's Death Highlights Need to Give Bulgaria Access to Schengen Database, Kuneva Says

The shooting death of a migrant near Bulgaria's border with Turkey is showing once again the need of a common policy on the security of European Union borders, Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva has said.

Bulgaria is guarding closely its borders, which also from part of the European Union's external border, Kuneva said at the Crans Montana Forum in Switzerland which is discussing the migration crisis in Europe.

Kuneva reiterated her long-standing position that Bulgaria should be granted access to the database of the EU's passport-free travel Schengen zone to boost security at the bloc's external border.

EU member states shouldn't be divided into members and non-members of the Schengen borderless area at a time when security of EU borders is a hot topic for discussion, Kuneva said. This is why Bulgaria needs to use the full gamut of the Schengen information system to ward off chellenges both to its own security and the security of the European Union, she added.

Kuneva is scheduled to meet Kelly T. Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees at the UN refugee agency, and officials of the International Organization for Migration later on Friday, the government's press office said.