Bulgarian President to discuss refugees with Security Council

Bulgaria’s President Rosen Plevneliev has called the Consultative Council for National Security for a sitting on November 20.

The formal title of the meeting abstractly mentions “Current risks and threats for national security” and state institutions’ readiness to meet them.

But the central topic expected to be discussed is the influx of asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, which has been intensifying in recent months.

Albeit small on global standards – some 7,000 Syrian refugees are currently in the country – the migration wave is unprecedented for Bulgaria.

It has shown both the lack of preparedness of state institutions to accomodate the refugees, as well as the latent xenophobia of parts of Bulgarian societies.