UN refugee chief urges EU-wide effort for Syrians

UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres on Friday called for the European Union to step up support for countries like Bulgaria coping with an influx of Syrian refugees living in overcrowded camps. The EU needs to mobilise and show "solidarity ... especially when some countries like Bulgaria have more limited resources and are at the external border of the union," Guterres told journalists after visiting a refugee camp in Sofia with EU humanitarian aid commissioner Kristalina Georgieva. Bulgaria, the bloc's poorest member, has been completely overwhelmed by the arrival this year of almost 10,000 refugees -- 60 percent of them Syrian -- crossing over illegally from Turkey. "It is very important that European countries all over the continent keep their borders open, accept Syrian refugees and provide them with adequate assistance," Guterres said.

Continue reading...