European Commission: EU Member States can Finance the Fence along the Bulgarian-Turkish Border Themselves

The EU member states themselves can finance the fence along the Bulgarian-Turkish border, claim sources from the European Commission.

This is how they interpret the words "bilateral funding, including through voluntary solidarity mechanisms" from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's January 26 letter to European leaders. It was on the occasion of a special European Council scheduled for February 9 and 10 in Brussels, which will be dedicated to migration. In it, von der Leyen points out that the Bulgarian-Turkish border should be a priority in strengthening the EU's key external borders.

A day later, the Commission repeated the well-known position that Brussels "does not finance the construction of standard infrastructure at its borders that keeps people out".

One member country can financially support another for the fence, added the Commission. This means that Bulgaria can be assisted by other countries from the Community, interested in the construction of the facility.